Subha Varier is an Indian space engineer. She has specialised in the video systems used on Indian satellite launches. In 2017 she received the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian hon ...

, India's highest award for women after the record release of 104 satellites in one launch.

Life

Varier grew up in

Alapuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in state of Kerala, India. The Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India which attracts millions of domestic and internat ...

. She graduated in Electronic and Communication Engineering from the

College of Engineering, Trivandrum The College of Engineering Trivandrum, commonly known as CET, is the first engineering college in Kerala, situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. It was founded in 1939 during the reign of the Travancore King, Chithira Thiru ...

. In 1991 she joined the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ...

. She was based at the

Vikram Sarabhai Space centre The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme. It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, in the India ...

's avionics division. file:Ms. Subha Varier awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2017.jpg, left, Receiving the

from President

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indi ...

in 2017 The PSLV C37 space mission was intended to place 104 satellites in Sun-synchronous orbits on February 15, 2017. The satellites belonged to six different nations and it was important that not only did each satellite launch without touching another, but that there was proof that this had happened. Video of the release needed to be convincing and Varier was given the task. The launch was successful and it was recorded by eight different cameras. The resulting video was then processed, compressed and sent back to earth. The video was decoded and played in real time as the satellites were released. Afterwards the video was viewed the files were then sent to a VSSC web repository. In March 2017, she was one of three scientists chosen to receive an award from the Indian President: Anatta Sonney,

B. Codanayaguy B. Codanayaguy is an Electronics & Instrumentation Engineer at the ISRO. She is responsible for the instrumentation of control systems for the solid rocket motors used in rocket launches. She was given the highest award for women in India, the N ...

and Varier. On

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday list of minor secular observances#March, celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights, women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, ...

in 2017, she was in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

where she was awarded the

by President

at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

. Each of the awardees received a citation and 100,000 rupees.

Private life

Varier and her husband Raghu have two children. Her husband also works at VSSC and they live at Ambalamukku near Kowdiar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varier, Subha Indian women engineers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)