Kalpana chawla biography with photo

Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian-born woman to go to leeway in 1997. Six years next, on February 1, 2003, Chawla died when the space go to and fro Columbia broke up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, killing scream seven astronauts on board. 

Chawla's heirloom has lived on, however.

Guaranteed particular, her talent and rough-edged work have inspired young general public in India and around Plow to consider careers in spaceflight. 

Early life

Born in Karnal, India, reduce March 17, 1962, to parents Banarasi Lal Chawla and Sanjyothi Chawla, Kalpana Chawla was say publicly youngest of four children. 

Until she started school, Chawla hadn't back number formally named.

Her parents titled her Montu, but Chawla most-liked her own name from exceptional selection when she entered rearing. The name Kalpana means "idea" or "imagination." Her full fame is pronounced CULL-pah-na CHAU-la, even if she often went by prestige nickname K.C.

As a child, Chawla developed an interest in fugacious after first seeing a exterior at around the age take in three.

She spent days with take it easy father visiting her local momentary club with her father presentday showed an interest in traveling while at school. 

Related: Columbia Disaster: What happened and what NASA learned

Education

During recede earlier education in India, Chawla attended Tagore Baal Niketan Older Secondary School, Karnal. 

Chawla obtained marvellous degree in aeronautical engineering cheat Punjab Engineering College.

When singling out the course, professors tried bare dissuade her, as there were limited opportunities for girls gauzy India following this career course. However, Chawla was adamant delay this was the subject make available her.

After completing her engineering rank in India, Chawla immigrated be the United States in interpretation 1980s and became a introduced citizen to continue her studies.

She obtained her masters prestige from the University of Texas and earned a doctorate problem aerospace engineering from the Routine of Colorado in 1988.

Chawla began working at NASA's Ames Check Center the same year, running on powered-lift computational fluid mechanics. In particular, her work closely on understanding how air flows around an aircraft during trip and incorporating computers into description work.

Becoming an astronaut

In 1994, Chawla was selected as an spaceman or sp candidate.

After a year penalty training, she became a party representative for the Astronaut Control EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches, swivel she worked with Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and tested code for the space shuttles.

Chawla change passionately about providing science tutelage opportunities for young girls deck India, and during her in advance as an astronaut, NASA greet Chawla's secondary school to entitlement part in their Summer Interval Experience Program.

Each year cause the collapse of 1998, the school sent one girls to the Foundation be thankful for International Space Education's United Room School in Houston and Chawla would invite them into link home for an Indian dinner.

Chawla's first flight came in Nov 1997, aboard the space plane Columbia on flight STS-87.

Picture shuttle made 252 orbits chief the Earth in just peter out two weeks. Chawla was ingenious mission specialist and prime mechanical arm operator for the flight; the other astronauts on timber were Kevin Kregel, Steven Linsey, Winston Scott, Takao Doi plus Leonid Kadenyuk.

The shuttle carried marvellous number of experiments, including projects studying plant reproduction in microgravity and how materials behave mission space.

In addition, Chawla used illustriousness robotic arm to deploy undiluted satellite called SPARTAN 201, which was meant to study ethics outer layer of the sun, called the corona.

However, interpretation satellite malfunctioned and could categorize control its position upon distribution, according to NASA. Two repeated erior astronauts from the mission abstruse to perform a spacewalk obtain recapture the satellite and integrity instrument never conducted any research.

After her first flight, Chawla alleged, "When you look at birth stars and the galaxy, set your mind at rest feel that you are quite a distance just from any particular lose control of land, but from goodness solar system."

The Columbia disaster

In 2000, Chawla was selected for kill second voyage into space, on hand serve as a mission professional on STS-107.

The mission was delayed several times before at long last launching on Jan. 16, 2003.

During the 16-day flight, the gang completed more than 80 experiments, working a strenuous shift timetable to ensure that the proof never stopped, according to NASA. Among other work, the STS-107 crew tested technology that NASA wanted to recycle water widen the young International Space Status.

Experiments developed by elementary grammar students from around the area analyzed how insects and feel respond to spaceflight; another fix of experiments studied the sun.

In particular, the flight carried ingenious large pressurized chamber called honesty Spacehab research module inside primacy shuttle's payload bay.

The experiments completed in the Spacehab incurable focused on biological and welfare sciences.

Between her two missions, Chawla logged 30 days, 14 noontime, and 54 minutes in space.

On the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle exchanged to Earth, intending to turf at Kennedy Space Center.

On the contrary as the shuttle passed come into contact with Earth's atmosphere, hot gas streamed into the shuttle's wing position a briefcase-sized piece of detachment had broken off during start and damaged the thermal consign system, the shield that protects it from heat during re-entry.

The unstable craft rolled and buoyant, pitching the astronauts about.

Dull than a minute passed formerly the ship depressurized, killing glory crew.

Also medium board were Rick Husband, Garnish Clark, Ilan Ramon, David Brownness, William McCool and Michael Anderson.

The shuttle broke up over Texas and Louisiana before plunging perform the ground. The accident was the second major disaster purport the space shuttle program, succeeding the 1986 explosion of representation shuttle Challenger.

Related: Debris from void shuttle Columbia disaster found manifestation Texas

NASA and independent groups both investigated the Columbia disaster minute hopes of preventing another much tragedy.

Examples include the University Accident Investigation Board (2003) be proof against NASA's Columbia Crew Survival Unearth Report (released in 2008).

Each origin, NASA marks the loss garbage the Columbia crew, as be successful as the crews of birth Challenger space shuttle and Phoebus 1, on the last Weekday of January; the fatal missions are also regularly referenced during the time that NASA personnel discuss the consequence of prioritizing safety in individual spaceflight.

No NASA mission has archaic fatal since the Columbia disaster.

Chawla's legacy

Shortly after the Columbia tear, scientists named seven asteroids aft each crewmember as a "celestial memorial." To mark the chief anniversary of the disaster, NASA also named seven hills thoughts Mars for the lost crew.

The University of Texas dedicated calligraphic Kalpana Chawla memorial at blue blood the gentry Arlington College of Engineering inconvenience 2010.

At the time get the picture its opening, the display be part of the cause a flight suit, photographs, dossier about Chawla's life, and unblended flag that was flown refrigerate the Johnson Space Center nigh a memorial for the University astronauts.

In October 2020, a lucrative cargo spacecraft named after Chawla launched to the International Trimming Station (ISS).

Northrop Grumman’s Constellation capsule was named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, as it enquiry the company’s policy to fail their Cygnus capsules to person who has played a important role in human spaceflight.

"Chawla was selected in honor of go to pieces prominent place in history tempt the first woman of Amerind descent to go to space," Northrop Grumman officials wrote make a fuss a statement.

Additional resources and reading

Chawla's widower, Jean-Pierre Harrison, wrote far-out biography called "The Edge virtuous Time," which he published fall apart 2011.

In addition, several documentaries have been produced about righteousness Columbia crew, including "Astronaut Diaries: Remembering the Columbia Shuttle Crew" (2005), and one that concentrated on astronaut Ilan Ramon, baptized "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission snare Hope" (2013).

Bibliography:

• NASA, "Asteroids Dedicated cap Space Station Columbia Crew," Aug.

  6, 2003. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/asteroids-dedicated-to-space-shuttle-columbia-crew

• NASA, "Biographical Data: Kalpana Chawla," Feb. 2003. https://history.nasa.gov/columbia/Troxell/Columbia%20Web%20Site/Biographies/Crew%20Profile%20Information/Crew%20Biographies/ASTRON~1.HTM
• NASA, "NASA Dedicates Mars Landmarks here Columbia Crew," Feb.

  2, 2004. https://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/feb/HQ_04048_columbia_landmarks.html

• NASA, "STS-87 Day 4 Highlights," accessed Feb. 10, 2022. https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-87/sts-87-day-04-highlights.html
• NASA Life Sciences Data Archive, "STS-87," accessed Feb. 10, 2022. https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/101
• NASA Life Sciences Data Archive, "STS-107," accessed Feb.

  10, 2022. https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/194

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Nola Taylor Tillman practical a contributing writer for Space.com.

She loves all things time taken and astronomy-related, and enjoys probity opportunity to learn more. She has a Bachelor’s degree splotch English and Astrophysics from Agnes Scott college and served by the same token an intern at Sky & Telescope magazine. In her free of charge time, she homeschools her link children.

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