Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla
Born(1962-03-17)March 17, 1962
Karnal, Haryana, India
DiedFebruary 1, 2003(2003-02-01) (aged 40)
Over Texas, U.S
Cause of deathSpace Shuttle Columbia disaster
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Citizenship
  • India (1962–1996)
  • United States (1991–2003)
EducationPunjab Engineering College (BEng)
University of Texas, Arlington (MS)
University of Colorado, Boulder (MS, PhD)
Awards
Space career
NASA astronaut
Time in space
31d 14h 54m[1]
SelectionNASA Group 15 (1994)
MissionsSTS-87
STS-107
Mission insignia
Scientific career
FieldsAerospace engineering
ThesisComputation of Dynamics and Control of Unsteady Vortical Flows (1988)
Doctoral advisorChuen-Yen Chow

Kalpana Chawla (17 March 1962 – 1 February 2003)[2] was an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space.[3][4] She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator aboard STS-87.[5] Chawla's second flight was in 2003 on STS-107, the final flight of Columbia. She was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on 1 February 2003.[6]

Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor,[7] and several streets, universities, and institutions are named in her honor.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ Dismukes, Kim (7 May 2009). "Kalpana Chawla – STS-107 Crew Memorial". NASA. Archived from the original on 6 November 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Kalpana Chawla Birth Anniversary: Here are lesser-known facts about the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space". Hindustan Times. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. ^ Rizvi, Salim (11 December 2006). "Indo-US astronaut follows Kalpana's footsteps". BBC News. New York: BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2012. Almost four years after the death of the first American astronaut Kalpana Chawla in the Columbia space shuttle disaster, Nasa has sent another woman of Indian origin into space.
  4. ^ Redd, Nola Taylor. "Kalpana Chawla: Biography & Columbia Disaster". Space.com. Tech Media Network. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Dr. Kalpana Chawla, astronaut and aerospace engineer, was the first Indian woman in space". AWIS. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Kalpana Chawla". NBC News. 30 December 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Astronaut Bio: Kalpana Chawla" (PDF). NASA. May 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).