The first Indian-born woman to travel in space, Kalpana Chawla, was born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, Haryana. Her name evokes pride in nearly every Indian. In 1997, Kalpana Chawla made her first space flight on board the Space Shuttle Columbia in the position of a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. (File)
The idea of flying and aircraft captivated Chawla as a child. With her father, she used to visit nearby flying clubs to watch the airplanes. After finishing her early studies at Karnal, she pursued a degree in aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh. She went to the US in 1982 to pursue her dream of becoming an astronaut. She graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984 with a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering. She earned her Ph.D. in the same discipline in 1988 from the University of Colorado. She began working for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the same year. In 1983, she married Jean-Pierre Harrison.
She made her second and final space flight aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107. The 16-day flight was specifically aimed to do scientific study. On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle was destroyed as it entered the atmosphere over Texas, killing all seven crew members including Chawla.
As per her wish, her final remains were cremated and spread in a Utah national park.
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