India's Missile Woman - Ms. Tessy Thomas.

[Mech]

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India's Missile woman - Ms. Tessy Thomas

Tessy Thomas has multiple monikers. Missile Woman and Agni Putri are just a few of them. The 45-year-old from Kerala, after all, is India's first woman scientist to head a strategic weapons project and was also part of the elite team responsible for Agni III. "It is a great sense of responsibility contributing to national security," says Thomas, who was one of the 10 chosen by the Defence Research and Development Organisation after a national entrance test in 1985. Superwoman, indeed.

Missile Woman: ‘Ms Tessy Thomas’ - suriyodayam's blog

New Delhi: She has been dubbed India`s `missile woman`, one in the team of India`s elite scientists behind the Agni III, India`s longest-range nuclear capable missile that can hit targets up to 3,000 km. But then Tessy Thomas is not called `Agni Putri`, or daughter of fire, for nothing.
When photographs of jubilant Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists appeared after the May 7 launch of Agni III, Tessy was the subject of many a question. But the 45-year-old associate project director of Agni missiles takes the curiosity in her stride. What matters is that her gender is not called into question at her workplace.

`Here, I am considered as a scientist and not a woman. But it has to be taken into account that the job with DRDO comes with a responsibility; it is for one who can understand the criticality of the work,` the woman from Alleppey in Kerala said.

`It was the determination of my mother that kept me going. My M.Tech degree in Guided Missiles gave me an upper hand. Also I joined under Dr. A.P.J. Kalam and have worked under seniors who always encouraged me.

`When I joined DRDO, there were only four-five women. Now there are about 20-30 women in a lab of 250 scientists. It is a good improvement,` Tessy told IANS.

Tessy Thomas: India`s Agni putri

NEW DELHI: It's indeed rocket science. And Tessy Thomas is going great guns at unravelling all its complexities. Though women and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles usually don't go together, Thomas is systematically breaking all glass ceilings in the avowedly male bastion of `strategic weapons'.

Thomas has now been appointed the project director (mission) of India's most ambitious missile, Agni-V, with a strike range of 5,000-km, which is slated to be tested for the first time next year.

Thomas, 46, was made the project director of the new advanced version of the 2,500-km Agni-II missile last year after she played a crucial role in the successful firing of the 3,500-km range Agni-III missile as an associate project director, as reported by TOI earlier.

Now, she has added another feather to her cap by being assigned to Agni-V, the test-firing of which will propel India towards having potent ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) capabilities, largely the preserve of the Big-5 countries till now.

Thomas, contacted by TOI on Tuesday, was reluctant to talk till she `had clearance from the top'. Overall Agni programme director, Avinash Chander, however, was full of praise for her. "She is one of the key members of the entire Agni programme,'' he said.

"The designer for the missile guidance systems, among other things, she is one of the most dedicated scientists in our team. She finds solutions to problems,'' he added.

A B.Tech from Thrissur Engineering College, Calicut, and M.Tech from Pune-based Defence Institute of Advanced Technologies, Thomas is an expert on `solid system propellants' which fuel the Agni missiles.

Based at the Advanced Systems Laboratory in Hyderabad, Thomas has been associated with the Agni programme for around two decades now. Her fascination for `rockets' began with the Apollo moon missions when she was in school at Alappuzha in Kerala.

The dream turned to reality when this `missile woman' was assigned to the Agni programme soon after joining DRDO in 1988 by the original `missile man', former President APJ Abdul Kalam. There are around 20 other women scientists working on the Agni programme but Thomas is the first to become a project director of an Agni system.

The work on the solid-fuelled Agni-V basically revolves around incorporating a third composite stage in the two-stage Agni-III, along with some advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerator for navigation and guidance.

The endeavour is to ensure that Agni-V, for which the government has sanctioned around Rs 2,500 crore, is also a canister-launch missile system to ensure it has the requisite operational flexibility to be fired from any part of the country. It will be slightly short of true ICBMs, which have ranges in excess of 5,500 km, but enough to take care of existing `threat perceptions'.

'Missile woman' to handle ambitious Agni-V project - Times Of India

[tamygu]

You are a wanker.

no i'm the upholder of truth from which indians try to run away

[IndoCarib]

India's missile man is a mislim missile woman is christian .Does hindus makes anything in India or they just kill muslims and christians who toil hard day night in labs to protect these sorry hindus from their enemies.

I always knew you are a flase flagger ! F##k off you #$@%##%&

---------- Post added at 09:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 PM ----------

no i'm the upholder of truth from which indians try to run away

Please hold your brain first ! Might just slip through your nose

[MastanKhan]

India's missile man is a mislim missile woman is christian .Does hindus makes anything in India or they just kill muslims and christians who toil hard day night in labs to protect these sorry hindus from their enemies.

Hi,

It is tragic and it is sarcastically funny as well---.

[IndoCarib]

Hi,

It is tragic and it is sarcastically funny as well---.

What is tragic and it is sarcastically funny? A non hindu woman being project director ? A non muslim woman in Pakistan can ever dream of such thing ??

[pmukherjee]

Congratulations to Ms Tessy Thomas, with her at the helm of affairs, we are sure that the Agni V will be a resounding success. The earlier this missile is inducted into the Services, the better for us. More power to the Missile Woman.

[Splurgenxs]

no i'm the upholder of truth from which Indians try to run away

Truth u say ...huh
A low life ...false flagger talking about truth. Ironically funny lmao..

[John Doe]

Hi,

It is tragic and it is sarcastically funny as well---.

You are completely misinformed about religious minorities in India. Despite the high profile cases like the Gujarat riots or anti-missionary murders (for eg.Graham Staines), by and large things are completely unlike what you think. Please talk to some Indians before you support some pathetic troll.

[EastWest]

India's missile man is a mislim missile woman is christian .Does hindus makes anything in India or they just kill muslims and christians who toil hard day night in labs to protect these sorry hindus from their enemies.

r u mentally sick or what??? We always knew u r a false flagger..but did nt knew u r such a sick f*ck !

[SpArK]

r u mentally sick or what???

The guy had atleast 4-5 ids.. randomly posts positive and negative ones as to avoid bans..










possibly a false flagger with a disturbed childhood.

[karan.1970]

Hi,

It is tragic and it is sarcastically funny as well---.

Never thought i will see the day when a post like this would come from you.. as they say, live and learn

[MastanKhan]

You are completely misinformed about religious minorities in India. Despite the high profile cases like the Gujarat riots or anti-missionary murders (for eg.Graham Staines), by and large things are completely unlike what you think. Please talk to some Indians before you support some pathetic troll.

Hi,

So very true----the execution and burnng to death 3000 plus muslims is no big deal---hehn----india is so big----3000 killed on one end---- a million hugged and kissed on the other end---it all evens out---.

[MastanKhan]

Never thought i will see the day when a post like this would come from you.. as they say, live and learn

Hi,

You guys need to learn to take it easy when the folly is on you---. Sometimes you are the ball---sometimes you are the bat----sometimes you are the fly---sometimes you are the swat---.

[RaptorRX707]

Where will be next Missile Children?

BTW, OP is also christian proudly. The picture of Thoman is wearing hindu symbol (red) on her head? Maybe not christian?

Indians must stop trolling on Pakistan threads.

[I spikes therefore I am]

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India's missile man is a mislim missile woman is christian .Does hindus makes anything in India or they just kill muslims and christians who toil hard day night in labs to protect these sorry hindus from their enemies.

Your are damn stupid and ur post is crappy, she is heading Agni 5 group that’s all our country is secular so religion not matters. In India there is no missile man or woman only media exaggerating and giving nick name. See the list of scientific advisors (IF U still THINKING HINDUS ARE USLESS THEN **** OFF) of DRDO : Prof. Suri Bhagavantham(01/07/1961 - 13/10/1969)
Dr.Basanti DulalNagchaudhuri(01/07/1970 - 01/07/1974)
Prof.Mambilikalathil Govind Kumar Menon(17/08/1974 - 10/07/1978)
Dr.Raja Ramanna(10/07/1978 -15/02/1982)
Dr.Vallampadugai Srinivasaraghavan Arunachalam(15/02/1982 - 10/07/1992)
Dr.Avul Pakir Jainulabuddin Abdul Kalam (10/07/1992 - 29/12/1999)
Dr.VasudevKalkunte Aatre(29/12/1999 - 31/08/2004)
Sh. M. Natarajan(31/08/2004 - 31/08/2009)
Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat (2009-PRESENT)

Vikram sarabhai founder of ISRO