ISRO scientist N Valarmathi, the voice behind many Indian Space Research Organisation's launch countdowns has passed away.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday condoled her demise in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Dr P V Venkitakrishnan, a former director at ISRO in a X post said that Chandrayan 3 was Valarmathi's final countdown announcement.
"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!" he wrote.
News agency ANI quoting ISRO PRO reported that Valarmathi passed away at a private hospital in Chennai due to cardiac arrest.
"She was a part of the Range Operations Programme Office at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre where she used to announce the countdown on all launches," ISRO PRO said.
Saddened to hear about the passing of N Valarmathi ji, the voice behind many @isro launch countdowns, including Chandrayaan 3.
September 4, 2023
My condolences to her family and friends. Om Shanti🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/0nMu6mbrReThe 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
September 3, 2023Who Was ISRO Scientist N Valarmathi?
According to a report in NDTV, Valarmathi was a native of Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur. She was born on July 31, 1959.
She went to the Nirmala Girls Higher Secondary School before graduating in engineering from the Government College of Technology in Coimbatore.
The report said that Valarmathi joined ISRO in 1984 and played a pivotal role in numerous missions.
She was the project director of RISAT-1, India's first indigenously developed Radar Imaging Satellite (RIS) and the country's second such satellite.
In 2015, she also became the first person to receive the Abdul Kalam Award, instituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu in honour of the former president Abdul Kalam in 2015.
Condolences have started pouring in on X to pay tribute to the late ISRO scientist. Take a look:
I'm truly sorry to hear about the passing of N Valarmathi, a dedicated voice behind ISRO launches.Her contributions to space exploration will be remembered.#ISRO#SpacePioneer#Condolences#RememberingValarmathi#ISROFamily#InspirationalVoice#LossInSpace#RIPValarmathi pic.twitter.com/YlkRfEqTmt
September 4, 2023Deeply Saddened to hear about the passing away of ISRO Scientist & the voice behind ISRO, Smt N Valarmathi garu. It's a huge loss to our country.
September 4, 2023
My deepest condolences to her family members and loving ones. Om Shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/vorJgs56C6ख़ामोश हुई
September 4, 2023
चन्द्रयान -3 के काउंटडाउन को आवाज देने वाली आवाज, @isro वैज्ञानिक वलारमथी को दिल 💔दौरा पड़ने से निधन हुआ#RIP_VALARMATHI 🙏 pic.twitter.com/c8wCy2Oi91Scientist N.Valarmathi, voice of ISRO launches suffered a heart attack on Saturday evening.
September 4, 2023
Chandrayan 3 was her final countdown announcement.
Om Shanti 🙏🏼 https://t.co/afUQ0z81XeRIP Queen 🌺
September 3, 2023
T-10 & Lift off Successfull, we will now miss these Golden lines at #ISRO for
ever now, the voice of Valarmathi Mam
will not be their for the Countdowns of future Launch at ISRO 🇮🇳
Chandrayaan-3 was her final mission in which we heard her voice 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Ol9IVu3Ps2Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.