He has represented Indian Space Research Organization at many international forums such as the World Meteorological Organisation and Indo-US Joint Working Group on Civil Space Cooperation and holds the Chair of the ISRO at the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEO).

[4][12] Kiran Kumar's legacy spans across his contributions to the scientific world, specifically Indian space endeavors, and his efforts towards the dissemination of knowledge by way of articles and lectures.

[2][4][5] Kumar is credited with the design and development of the electro-optical image sensors[5] used in India's first remote sensing satellite, Bhaskara, launched in 1979[9] and the subsequent one in 1981,[2] as well as the ocean colour instruments used in weather forecasting, sea zone/landscape mapping and telecommunications.

[2][4][5][8] He is also reported to have contributed to the design and development of the imaging instruments for projects such as INSAT–3D, Resourcesat, Micro Satellite and Cartosat.

[9] [12] The Terrain Mapping Camera and Hyperspectral Imager payloads of Chandrayaan-1 project is also credited to the efforts of Kiran Kumar.