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In memory of Kalpana Chawla
Remembering the lady who touched the sky on her 56th birth anniversary.
Kalpana Chawla is an Inspiration for millions of girls across the globe.Chawla, was an Indian born American astronaut and the first woman from India who touched the sky.
She was born in Karnal and did her schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan School, in Karnal. She was as an enthusiastic hiker, back-packer and love reading. After her schooling, from Punjab Engineering College she received aeronautical engineering degree. Later she immigrated to the US.
Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor's license with airplane and glider ratings, Commercial Pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and Gliders, and instrument rating for airplanes.
She joined NASA Ames Research Centre, in the year 1988, where she did CFD (computational fluid dynamics) research on vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) concepts.
Chawla's first space mission began on November 19, 1997, she was one among the six-astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian woman to fly in space.
On January 16, 2003, Chawla returned to space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-107 mission.
On 1st February 2003, the space shuttle Columbia began its descent back to the earth. When the shuttle raced over the Pacific towards the US, the shuttle broke apart while entering back the Earth's atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana that took life of all seven crew members Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, and Laurel Blair Salton Clark on board. It is said that the crew cabin lost pressure which would have caused the astronauts to blackout or else the violent trembling of the cabin would have been the reason behind the disaster.
After death, Chawla was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and several universities and institutions have been named in her honour. Indian Prime Minister renamed the meteorological series of satellites, MetSat, to 'Kalpana' in the year 2003. The late astronaut is renowned as a national hero in India.
