N Valarmathi devoted her career to ISRO since 1984.
Valarmathi’s latest announcement was on July 30, when the PSLV-C56 rocket lifted off with seven Singaporean satellites on board.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientist, N Valarmathi, who was the voice behind the countdown for the launch of many ISRO programs including the recent Chandrayaan-3 mission, died on Saturday at the age of 64 due to a heart attack.
According to reports, she was unwell for a while and took her last breath at a private hospital in Chennai. During the July 14 event, Valarmathi was heard counting down for the rocket launch. Her latest announcement was on July 30 when the PSLV-C56 rocket lifted off seven Singaporean satellites as part of a dedicated commercial mission.
According to ISRO PRO, N Valamathi was a valued member of the Range Operations Program Office at the Satish Dhawan Space Center where she was responsible for announcing the countdown for all launches over the past six years.
Former ISRO scientist and director PV Venkitakrishnan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “The voice of Valarmathi Madam will not be there for the countdown of ISRO’s future missions from Sriharikotta. Chandrayan 3 was her last countdown announcement. An unexpected demise. Feel so sad. Pranams!”
The voice of Valarmathi Madam will not be there for the countdowns of future missions of ISRO from Sriharikotta. Chandrayan 3 was her final countdown announcement. An unexpected demise . Feel so sad.Pranams! pic.twitter.com/T9cMQkLU6J
— Dr. P V Venkitakrishnan (@DrPVVenkitakri1) September 3, 2023
Valarmathi was born on July 31, 1959 in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu. She was educated at Nirmala Girls Higher Secondary School. She completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree from Government College of Technology, Coimbatore. It was followed by her master’s degree in electronics and communications from Anna University.
N Valarmathi devoted her career to ISRO since 1984. She contributed to numerous missions such as Insat 2A, IRS IC, IRS ID and TES. Her remarkable journey led her to become a project director for many projects. One of these was India’s first domestically-made radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1. It had a successful launch in 2012. She was the second woman in the country to do so.
She was also the first recipient of the Abdul Kalam Award in 2015. The prestigious award was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu in honor of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.