Eminent rocket scientist S Somanath appointed ISRO chief
New Delhi, Jan 12: Eminent rocket scientist S Somanath has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as well as the Space Secretary, a Personnel Ministry order issued on Wednesday said.
Somanath, who is at present Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), will succeed K Sivan who completes his extended tenure on Friday.
Sivan was in January 2018 appointed as the ISRO chief, Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman Space Commission.
He was in December 2020 given a one-year extension till January 14, 2022.
Somanath's appointment as the Space Secretary and the Space Commission Chairman is for a combined tenure of three years from the date of joining of the post, inclusive of an extension in tenure beyond the age of superannuation in public interest, the order said.
The post of the ISRO chairman, the Space Secretary and the Space Commission chief is usually held by one person only.
Somanath, who will be the 10th chairman of the premier space organisation, took charge as the VSSC's head on January 22, 2018, after a two and a half years stint as the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala, Thiruvananathapuram.
Previously, he served as the Associate Director (Projects) of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and also as the Project Director of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, according to his official biodata.
Under his leadership, the first experimental flight of LVM3-X/CARE mission was successfully accomplished on December 18, 2014, it said.
Somanath did his B Tech in Mechanical Engineering from TKM college of engineering, Kollam, and Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, with specialisation in structures, dynamics and control. He was a gold medalist.
Somanath joined VSSC in 1985 and was a team leader for the integration of PSLV during the early phases.
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OpenAI reportedly developing social media platform to rival Elon Musk’s X
San Francisco: In a development that could reshape the AI-driven social media landscape, OpenAI is reportedly in the early stages of creating its own social media platform, one that closely resembles Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
According to sources cited by The Verge, the new platform features an experimental feed built around ChatGPT’s image generation capabilities. The project is still in its infancy, and it is unclear whether it will debut as a standalone app or as an extension of the ChatGPT interface.
While OpenAI has not yet issued an official statement, CEO Sam Altman is said to be personally involved in reviewing and discussing the platform’s potential. This move, if confirmed, could escalate existing tensions between Altman and Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI who left the company in 2018.
Relations between the two tech leaders have become increasingly hostile. In February, Musk attempted a $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover of OpenAI, an offer that was firmly rejected. He later filed a lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI, accusing them of betraying the company’s original non-profit mission. In response, OpenAI filed a counter-suit accusing Musk of harassment and attempting to derail its evolution into a for-profit enterprise. The legal confrontation is expected to go before a jury in 2026.
Observers say OpenAI’s possible entry into the social media space could create a new front in the ongoing rivalry, not only with Musk, but also with Meta. Mark Zuckerberg’s company is also reportedly working on AI-powered social platforms. Altman previously hinted at OpenAI’s interest in the domain, responding to Meta’s plans with a post on X: “ok fine maybe we'll do a social app.”
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