N Valarmathy, project director of PSLV-C19: From Ariyallur to Isro’s launch pad

CHENNAI: It was a dream come true for N Valarmathy, project director , Isro, when PSLV- C19 lifted off and placed its heaviest payload, an all-weather remote sensing satellite, in orbit on Thursday. Several months of her hard work had paid off.

Valarmathy will be the second person from rural Tamil Nadu to make a mark in Indian space initiatives after Mayilsami Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1 . Hailing from Ariyallur, 255km from here, Valarmathy used to dream of the stars as a school-goer . After passing out of a neighbourhood private school, she joined engineering and graduated from the Government College of Technology, followed by post graduation from Anna University. She turned down an offer from DRDO to join Isro. “I wanted to work in the sphere of space which was an emerging field. That dream came true when I joined Isro in 1984,” said Valarmathy.

Incidentally, India’s leap into the ICBM sphere with the Agni-V was also headed by a DRDO woman , Tessy Thomas.

Valarmathy specialises in communication systems engineering.

“I feel proud that the launch vehicle PSLV and satellite performed well. The initial signals from the satellite show it is working well,” she said. Several women are taking senior positions in Isro.