Kalpana Chawla was an American astronaut, engineer and the first Indian born woman to travel to space. She explored the limits of her dreams and died a heroine’s death. Her flying dreams were inspired by JRD Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot. After earning her degree in aeronautical engineering from the Punjab engineering college, Kalpana Chawla left for the United States. She obtained two master’s degree, and a Ph.D. In 1982, she married Jean Pierre Harrison, and became a US citizen. She joined the NASA Ames Research Center.
On December 5th 1997, she flew to space
in the STS-87 Columbia spacecraft. It made 252 orbits around the Earth, and
Chawla was given special awards by her peers.
In 2003, the ill-fated STS-107 Columbia spacecraft few into space
carrying Kalpana Chawla and six other crew members. While re-entering the
Earth’s atmosphere, the space shuttle shattered and everybody in it met a
tragic end in 2003.
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