Woman From Kerala Became The First To Work For Three Decades In ISRO
Update: 2022-05-31 20:45 IST
S Geetha (Photo/newindianexpress)
Geetha, the first woman programme director of space transportation systems at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, will step down on Tuesday after 33 years of service. At the centre, she was in charge of seven teams of 64 engineers.
Geetha graduated from Thiruvananthapuram's Vattiyoorkavu Government High School, where she studied in the Malayalam medium. A young Geetha would never have imagined that years later she would be one of the country's greatest space scientists.
Valentina Tereshkova, the first and youngest woman to perform a solo mission to space on the Vostok 6 in 1963, is one of her earliest memories. Geetha was inspired by Valentina to pursue a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering at Thiruvananthapuram's College of Engineering (CET)
Geetha went on to pursue MTech in control systems at CET, where she received first place. In 1989, she got her desired job as an engineer with VSSC. Climbing the ladder at the space centre, on the other hand, was not easy. Her first effort, PSLV D1 autopilot design, was unsuccessful owing to a software fault. In 1993, it sank in the Bay of Bengal.
Geeta stated that the most difficult phase of her career was when all of the GSLV programmes collapsed at the same time. However, she went on to become the first female associate project director of launch vehicle projects at VSSC.
Geetha was also a member of the team that launched 104 satellites from Sriharikota into orbit for various countries in 2017. Geetha managed to squeeze in a PhD in nonlinear control systems from the University of Kerala despite her hectic schedule.
Her husband, S R Vijayamohana Kumar, departed from VSSC two years ago as group director (technology transfer). G Vineetha, the couple's daughter, is a masters student at the New York Film Academy in the United States.