Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut of Indian origin. She was the first Indian-American astronaut and the first Indian woman to go into space. She was married to flight instructor Jean-Pierre Harrison.[2] She first flew in 1997 on the Space Shuttle mission STS-87, and flew again on the STS-107 mission in 2003, during which she was killed while the spacecraft was returning to Earth.
Kalpana Chawla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 17, 1962 |
| Died | February 1, 2003 (aged 40) |
| Alma mater | Punjab Engineering College University of Texas at Arlington University of Colorado at Boulder |
| Awards |  |
| Space career | |
Time in space | 31 days, 14 hours, 54 minutes[1] |
| Selection | 1994 NASA Group |
| Missions | STS-87 STS-107 |
Mission insignia |   |
Early life
Chawla was born in Karnal, Haryana. She got a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering elementary school. She moved to America and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the year 1990s. She earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas. She got her doctorate from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1993. She began flying with people for NASA at the Ames Research the same year.
Career
In 2000, Chawla was selected for her second voyage into space, serving again as a mission specialist on STS-107. The mission was delayed several times, and finally launched in 2003. Over the course of the 16-day flight, the crew completed more than 80 experiments. Kalpana was one of the seven people killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.[3]
Kalpana Chawla Media
Kalpana Chawla Hall, University of Texas Arlington
Chawla and her husband before the launch of STS-87
References
- ↑ Dismukes, Kim (March 1, 2003). "Kalpana Chawla – STS-107 Crew Memorial". National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ↑ "Sky-High Ambition and a Love of Flight". Washington Post. 2003-02-06. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- ↑ "17 Years After Kalpana Chawla's Death, Her Father Opens Up About Her Dream". News18. 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-12-04.