Recently, India’s PSLV C-37 placed a record 104 satellites from six countries in their orbits, as the world watched in wonderment. Plaudits poured in.
Now, for her crucial contribution to the mission, a member of the team, Subha Warrier, has been chosen for the Nari Shakti Puraskar, instituted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It will be handed over to her on March 8, International Women’s Day.
Ms. Warrier, Sci/Engineer SG, Avionics Entity of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, had conceptualised, configured and realised a full-fledged video system deployed in the PSLV C-37 mission to confirm collision-free separation of all the satellites in the mission.
“I am pleasantly surprised. I have enjoyed every moment of the academic career spanning 25 years at the VSSC and this award, while totally unexpected, is gratifying,” Ms. Warrier said.
The award, which acknowledges the contributions of women for the nation, carries a cash prize of ₹1 lakh and a citation.
Real-time images
“Video system activity was very important and relevant for this mission as we needed to provide proof of performance and it was essential to have images of critical separating stages and the satellites. During the launch time, we could show the images real time on ground at Sriharikota and it was an exciting experience,” Ms. Warrier told The Hindu .
The images were important for creating public awareness of the ISRO mission and for expanding the avenues of the operational vehicle.
It was a stressful time and impossible schedules had to be met but the all the blood, sweat and tears eventually paid off, she added. The real challenge was customising the camera and processing electronics so that not only did these fit within the constraints of the rocket, it had to meet performance targets too on-board the vehicle.
For the team
“It was a major and complex system with interfaces to other complex systems and it worked without a hitch on board. I had a huge team working with me on various aspects and this award is a representation of the hard work that each of them have put in,” Ms. Warrier said.
Though she had won performance excellence award from the Indian Space Research Organisation for her work with Chandrayaan 1 and Space Capsule Recovery Experiment 1, this is the first time that a recognition at the national level is coming her way.
