Ex-president known as father of Indian missile program passes away. Ex-Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam was known as father of the country's nuclear weapons program.The president from 2002 until 2007 was known as the father of the country's military missile program. B. Warjri, chief secretary of Meghalaya state, said Kalam died Monday evening at a hospital. He was 83. Kalam fell sick Monday while addressing the students of the Indian Institute of Management in the Meghalaya city of Shillong. Popularly known as "Missile Man," Kalam led the scientific team that developed missiles able to carry India's nuclear warheads. He became a national folk hero after helping oversee nuclear tests in 1998 that solidified India's status as a nuclear weapons state. India's first atomic test was in 1974.
