PV Manoranjan Rao obtained his PhD from Calcutta University and completed his post-doc work at Nagoya University, Japan. A space physicist, Rao has been writing on the history of ISRO since his retirement as Group Director from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in 1996. Till date, he has written/edited four books on the subject. His book, A Brief History of Rocketry in ISRO, co-authored with P Radhakrishnan, won the 2014 Engineering Sciences Book Award of the International Academy of Astronautics.
BN Suresh, a leading authority on launch vehicle technology, was formerly Director of VSSC and a member of the Space Commission. His most recent publication, Integrated Design of Space Transportation System, co-authored with K Sivan, Chairman of ISRO, is an authoritative account of the subject. Currently, he is Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology in Thiruvanathapuram and Honorary Distinguished Professor at ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan (2013) by the Government of India for his seminal contributions to ISRO.
VP Balagangadharan, a former scientist in VSSC, is a specialist in ISRO’s outreach activities and in Intellectual Property Rights. He works closely with PV Manoranjan Rao in documenting the history of ISRO. Till date, he has written/edited four books, including one on rockets for children and two in Malayalam on the history of ISRO.