From: NDTV
Dated: April 19, 2012
Title: Agni-5 launch
full coverage
By: Pallava Bagla
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
India's missile woman: Tessy Thomas
From: The Times of India
Dated: April 25, 2012
Title: ‘Leadership or technology doesn’t know gender’: Tessy
Thomas, key player Agni-5 missile
By: Pallava Bagla
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Leadership-or-technology-doesnt-know-gender/articleshow/12854609.cms
‘Leadership or technology doesn’t know gender’: Tessy
Thomas, key player Agni-5 missile
She was named after Nobel peace prize-winner Mother
Teresa - but scientist Tessy Thomas
made news for heading the team responsible for India's first missile that can
cross continents. With a range of over 5,000 kilometres, the multi-functional Agni V can be used
to direct weapons over vast distances - or even launch a 300-kg satellite in a
low earth orbit. Thomas, often termed India's 'agni-putri', spoke with Pallava
Bagla about her feelings at Agni V's launch, what the weapon gives India -
and why being a woman has never deterred her from succeeding in a
male-dominated work field:
The Agni V has been successfully launched - after all the effort, how does it feel?
It is a feeling of great satisfaction. The country needed such a defence system and i am proud to be part of the team that made history. This is a game-changer missile that gives India the capability to launch nuclear weapons if required, launch anti-satellite weapons and even launch satellites on demand. This is a 21st century, highly modern missile that gives India the strategic depth it lacked.
Please tell us about your role in the development of the Agni V missile.
I started with navigation and guidance. I designed the guidance for the entire Agni series. I then switched over to the mission design for Agni-plus and for all the Agni series of missiles. I developed the guidance and mission design for the Agni V missile.
You are a leader in this field today - has being a woman and reaching the top been difficult?
No. I have been given this project to head as a leader - and we have proven the system. Leadership or technology doesn't know gender. Science has no gender. Science does not know from where knowledge is coming - it's only the willingness to learn and know things that matters. If you are willing to take on challenges and learn from experience, that's what is required. I have faced no gender discrimination at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It all depends on the type of organisation it is - and we at DRDO get the support we need. Further, my husband is also from a naval background, so he knows the responsibility of the work i am doing, the importance of this work. My son and my family, my parents, all were supportive towards my work.
But in a heavily male dominated work area like missile technology, is it easy to get male colleagues to listen to you?
I think they listen and do the job like any other...it depends on leadership and the science which we are working out toge-ther. They all take up the work jointly and know their responsibilities while i know how to convey this sense of responsi-bility. We work together...the whole team has been working for this class of missiles.
Do you have a message for young women who want to take up a career in science?
Yes. It's the willingness to learn, to take on challenges that is important. If you are confident that you can do science well, you will excel at it. Science is a subject of great popular interest today and it's vital for our technology. We're seeing people willing to study science at the school and college levels. I also interact with many children, all of whom are willing to take up science as their subject of choice.
The Agni V has been successfully launched - after all the effort, how does it feel?
It is a feeling of great satisfaction. The country needed such a defence system and i am proud to be part of the team that made history. This is a game-changer missile that gives India the capability to launch nuclear weapons if required, launch anti-satellite weapons and even launch satellites on demand. This is a 21st century, highly modern missile that gives India the strategic depth it lacked.
Please tell us about your role in the development of the Agni V missile.
I started with navigation and guidance. I designed the guidance for the entire Agni series. I then switched over to the mission design for Agni-plus and for all the Agni series of missiles. I developed the guidance and mission design for the Agni V missile.
You are a leader in this field today - has being a woman and reaching the top been difficult?
No. I have been given this project to head as a leader - and we have proven the system. Leadership or technology doesn't know gender. Science has no gender. Science does not know from where knowledge is coming - it's only the willingness to learn and know things that matters. If you are willing to take on challenges and learn from experience, that's what is required. I have faced no gender discrimination at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It all depends on the type of organisation it is - and we at DRDO get the support we need. Further, my husband is also from a naval background, so he knows the responsibility of the work i am doing, the importance of this work. My son and my family, my parents, all were supportive towards my work.
But in a heavily male dominated work area like missile technology, is it easy to get male colleagues to listen to you?
I think they listen and do the job like any other...it depends on leadership and the science which we are working out toge-ther. They all take up the work jointly and know their responsibilities while i know how to convey this sense of responsi-bility. We work together...the whole team has been working for this class of missiles.
Do you have a message for young women who want to take up a career in science?
Yes. It's the willingness to learn, to take on challenges that is important. If you are confident that you can do science well, you will excel at it. Science is a subject of great popular interest today and it's vital for our technology. We're seeing people willing to study science at the school and college levels. I also interact with many children, all of whom are willing to take up science as their subject of choice.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Chandrayaan -- India Aims for the Moon
India Aims for the moon with Chandrayaan-1
October 11, 2008, New Delhi, India
October 11, 2008, New Delhi, India
By Pallava Bagla
India is finally moonstruck! Multiple missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond are on the anvil and a ringside view of this `one giant step for India’ is on offer.
India is finally moonstruck! Multiple missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond are on the anvil and a ringside view of this `one giant step for India’ is on offer.
The country’s maiden mission to the Moon called Chandrayaan-1 (or ‘moon craft’) is the most detailed exploratory mission to the moon in several decades. It is a truly multi-continent scientific endeavor that has been spearheaded by Indian scientists with the lunar satellite and rocket both designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.
This is indeed a unique mission where tables have literally been turned, with India offering a virtual free ride to the moon to advanced countries like the USA and UK! Yes, India is not charging anything as travel ticket to its partner nations, in return the participating nations share the lunar data with India. A great barter indeed!
India’s first unmanned satellite to the moon is the cheapest lunar mission in this latest twenty first century Asian surge to the moon, with Chandrayaan-1 costing Rupees 386 crores -- almost a quarter of what the Japanese mission Kaguya costs and half the cost of the latest Chinese moon mission Chang’e-1. Despite this, the Indian mission has double the life time of all the current lunar missions.
It is indeed a pioneering project that will permanently place India’s tri-colour on the moon, with India joining a small but elite club of nations led by Russia, America and Japan that have achieved this feat. The motivation for this it seems is establishing India's presence on the moon as part of global geopolitcs all being done with an eye on sharing the spoils of lunar resources as and when they can be mined in the distant future.
Chandrayaan-1, will map the resources of the moon like never before, hoping to prepare the most detailed and complete physical map of the moon. It has five instruments from India and six from overseas partners. There are 14 countries participating in this Indian mission. Among the several other scientific objectives of Chandrayaan-1, the Indian mission offers the most detailed search for water on the moon ever attempted in history. If water is discovered on the moon it could pave the way for establsihing human colonies on the lunar surface.
Even as India gets ready for this `one small step', Indian scietists are are already preparing for the second mission to the moon called Chandrayaan-2 in which an unmanned lander and a rover will be placed on the lunar surface in 2012, this will be done in collaboration with Russia. ISRO has already expressed its willingness to go further by sending a manned mission to space by 2015 and landing an Indian on the moon using Indian rockets by about2025. India is also preparing for missions to explore Mars, the Sun and an asteroid.
Fabled in songs, poetry and films the Earth’s closest neighbor, the Moon is still an enigma, mostly hidden from view. Despite the fact that about a dozen men have visited the moon till date yet, little is really known about its origin and what it is composed of. Does it contain life giving water on the lunar poles? To unravel some of these mysteries Chandrayaan-1, an unmanned satellite mission to the moon, will be shot into space on board India’s trusted rocket the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, with the 400,000 kilometer distance to the moon to be covered in several days.
Coming at the very end of the sixth decade of India’s Independence, the country is reaching for the skies, and in more ways than one. As the country gets propelled towards new adventures in space, a whole generation of Indians will experience first-hand the incredulous science and thrill of exploration of the Moon.
The Moon has always held pride of place in the human ethos – across diverse communities, nations, cultures and faiths. It has also held secrets and mysteries, with experts of planetary science and space seeking answers about its true origin and evolution, the presence of water and the possibility of exploiting natural resources on the moon on a commercial basis in times to come.
India is no stranger to human civilization’s unending quest for knowledge and this latest programme will place the country squarely in the galaxy of scientifically advanced nations that seek to answer the unanswered, search unexplored frontiers and tirelessly work to keep the flame burning, shedding its light in the dark unknown. In the past, lunar missions have succeeded in galvanizing entire nations and igniting collective psyches, and the Indian mission is no different. India's moon yatra has truly begun!
Pallava Bagla
(Pallava Bagla is Science Editor for NDTV and Chief Correspondent (Soutrh Asia) for Science.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Destination Moon: India's Quest for Moon, Mars and Beyond
Book Title: Destination Moon: India’s Quest for the Moon, Mars and Beyond
Authors: Pallava Bagla and Subhadra Menon
(Forewords by: Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, chairman ISRO and Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament and former chairman ISRO.)
Pages: 224 + 8 color plates
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
Price: Rupees 195.00
Release: August, 2008
Introduction to Destination Moon:
Fabled in songs and poetry, and romanticized by lovers down the ages, the earth's closest neighbor is still an enigma in material terms. Can it sustain life? Does it have water? How did it come into existence? And what is its exact relationship with the earth?
Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden moon craft, will seek to unravel these and other mysteries in the most ambitious exploratory mission to the moon in decades. Conceptualized by Indian scientists, it is in some ways a global scientific endeavor, with European and American instruments hitching a ride on a lunar satellite and rocket designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.
When the mission was first proposed in 1999, it seemed wildly optimistic to most people. Could a developing nation with limited resources afford to invest so much money, time and effort on research into outer space? Yet, almost a decade later, India's science community has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of meeting the most exacting challenges.
This book is a celebration of that achievement. It tells the story of the moon mission from conception to launch – the genesis, the plan, the people, the science. Based on reportage, interviews and most important of all, a deep understanding of the processes involved, Destination Moon is a lucidly written and comprehensive guide to India's engagement with outer space – past, present and future.
Quotations:
‘It is not a question of whether we can afford to go to the moon. It’s whether we can afford to ignore it.’
Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member, Rajya Sabha and Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization
'Twenty years from now when space travel is likely to become mundane like airlines travel today, we don't want to be buying travel tickets on other people's space vehicles.'
Dr G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO
`India and the US are not racing to go the moon… we can hope to go together.’
Dr. Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA
About the Authors:
Pallava Bagla is Science Editor, NDTV (New Delhi Television) and Chief Correspondent (South Asia) for the American weekly Science. In 2005 he was honored with the National Award for best science journalism in the print media by the Indian government and in 2003 he was awarded for ‘outstanding journalism’ by the United Nations. He is also a skilled photographer and images taken by him have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Nature and New Scientist. He has covered the Indian space and nuclear program for the past two decades.
pallava.bagla@gmail.com
Dr Subhadra Menon is an award winning science and health writer and a former correspondent for India Today. She has also contributed to New Scientist and Scientific American. She is the author of No Place to Go, a book on India’s ailing health sector. She currently works with the Public Health Foundation of India, spearheading its communication efforts.
subhadra.menon@gmail.com
Details of Book: Destination Moon
Pages: 224 + 8 color plates
ISBN: 978-81-7223-676-2
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
(A joint venture with India Today Group)
Price: Rupees 195.00
Year: August 2008
To Order:
http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=2029
Telephone: +91-120-404-4800
Email: sales@harpercollins.co.in
Harper Collins Publishers India Ltd.A 53, Sector 57 NOIDA,
Pin: 201 301
Uttar Pradesh India
Authors: Pallava Bagla and Subhadra Menon
(Forewords by: Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, chairman ISRO and Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament and former chairman ISRO.)
Pages: 224 + 8 color plates
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
Price: Rupees 195.00
Release: August, 2008
Introduction to Destination Moon:
Fabled in songs and poetry, and romanticized by lovers down the ages, the earth's closest neighbor is still an enigma in material terms. Can it sustain life? Does it have water? How did it come into existence? And what is its exact relationship with the earth?
Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden moon craft, will seek to unravel these and other mysteries in the most ambitious exploratory mission to the moon in decades. Conceptualized by Indian scientists, it is in some ways a global scientific endeavor, with European and American instruments hitching a ride on a lunar satellite and rocket designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.
When the mission was first proposed in 1999, it seemed wildly optimistic to most people. Could a developing nation with limited resources afford to invest so much money, time and effort on research into outer space? Yet, almost a decade later, India's science community has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of meeting the most exacting challenges.
This book is a celebration of that achievement. It tells the story of the moon mission from conception to launch – the genesis, the plan, the people, the science. Based on reportage, interviews and most important of all, a deep understanding of the processes involved, Destination Moon is a lucidly written and comprehensive guide to India's engagement with outer space – past, present and future.
Quotations:
‘It is not a question of whether we can afford to go to the moon. It’s whether we can afford to ignore it.’
Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member, Rajya Sabha and Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization
'Twenty years from now when space travel is likely to become mundane like airlines travel today, we don't want to be buying travel tickets on other people's space vehicles.'
Dr G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO
`India and the US are not racing to go the moon… we can hope to go together.’
Dr. Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA
About the Authors:
Pallava Bagla is Science Editor, NDTV (New Delhi Television) and Chief Correspondent (South Asia) for the American weekly Science. In 2005 he was honored with the National Award for best science journalism in the print media by the Indian government and in 2003 he was awarded for ‘outstanding journalism’ by the United Nations. He is also a skilled photographer and images taken by him have appeared in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Nature and New Scientist. He has covered the Indian space and nuclear program for the past two decades.
pallava.bagla@gmail.com
Dr Subhadra Menon is an award winning science and health writer and a former correspondent for India Today. She has also contributed to New Scientist and Scientific American. She is the author of No Place to Go, a book on India’s ailing health sector. She currently works with the Public Health Foundation of India, spearheading its communication efforts.
subhadra.menon@gmail.com
Details of Book: Destination Moon
Pages: 224 + 8 color plates
ISBN: 978-81-7223-676-2
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
(A joint venture with India Today Group)
Price: Rupees 195.00
Year: August 2008
To Order:
http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=2029
Telephone: +91-120-404-4800
Email: sales@harpercollins.co.in
Harper Collins Publishers India Ltd.A 53, Sector 57 NOIDA,
Pin: 201 301
Uttar Pradesh India
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