15 years ago, Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla lost her life along with 6 other members of the crew in a space shuttle crash. Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space; unfortunately, she never returned from her second mission.
It was 1st February 2003 when the entire crew of Columbia Mission was landing on Earth in their space shuttle. The shuttle disintegrated over Texas while re-entering into the Earth’s atmosphere just 16 minutes before landing.
Here are some facts about the astronaut who is an ideal for the youth and aspiring space enthusiasts:
• Born in March 17, 1962, Kalpana Chawla finished her schooling from Karnal and then got a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh.
• She moved to the United States in 1982 and pursued Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas. Later she got a Ph.D. from University of Colorado and started working with NASA in 1988.
• Her first space mission started in 1997 on Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87, whereby her task was to release the Spartan satellite. However, a malfunction occurred and the crew had to spacewalk to retrieve the satellite. When NASA launched an investigation, Kalpana was exonerated and was even called a “terrific astronaut”.
• Her second space mission was in 2003 aboard STS-107 that turned out to be the last one for her and 6 others in the crew. These members were- Pilot William c. McCool, Payload Commander Michael p. Anderson, David M. Brown, Rick D. Husband, Ilan Ramon, and Laurel B. Clark.
Kalpana Chawla with the Columbia Mission Crew
• During the launch, a piece of foam fell from the external tank and formed a hole on the left wing. Later, when it was re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, there was friction causing hot gases to enter the shuttle.
As the hot gases entered the shuttle, it got unstable and just 16 minutes before the landing, the shuttle disintegrated into pieces above Texas.
• In Kalpana’s last conversation with her family, she had informed them that the mission was successful and all were fine. Before taking off she had stated, “I was not born for one corner. The whole world is my native land.”
• She was posthumously awarded several honors namely Congressional Space Medal of Honor, NASA Space Flight Medal, and NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
• Recently, NASA honored all the seven crew members of the Columbia mission with a musical tribute at Kennedy Space Centre.
Kalpana Chawla will always be remembered as a true hero not just because she was the first Indian woman to go to space or the second Indian to do so. She was an achiever and never believed that hailing from a particular place or being a woman has anything to do with her achievements. She once said:
“When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system.”
