Kalpana Chawla Birthday, Wiki, Age, Family Achievements & More

Kalpana Chawla Birthday, Wiki, Age, Family Achievements & More

Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and the first woman of Indian origin in space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the craft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and several streets, universities, and institutions have been named in her honor.

Early life

Chawla was born on 17 March 1962, but her official date of birth was altered to 1 July 1961 to allow her to become eligible for the matriculation exam. As a child, Kalpana liked to draw pictures of airplanes. After getting a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, she moved to the United States in 1982 where she obtained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984. Chawla went on to earn a second Masters in 1986 and a PhD in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado Boulder.

           

Career

Kalpana Chawla came from a very humble background and did her schooling from Karnal. She obtained her graduation degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh. Thereafter, she moved to the US and obtained her Master’s degree Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Texas, U.S. She completed her second Masters and also did PhD in aerospace engineering in Boulder from the University of Colorado. Since then she was employed at NASA.

She joined NASA Astronaut Corp and selected for her maiden flight in the year 1998. In her first flight, she travelled a distance of around 10.4 million Kilometres. Thereby, she created history by becoming the first ever Indian women to travel space. She was only the second Indian since Rakesh Sharma to travel in a spacecraft. She stationed the malfunctioned Satellite, Spartan.

After her first successful mission, she was again picked for her second mission in 2000. Unfortunately, due to some technical faults, the mission got delayed. In 2003, she aboard the space shuttle for the STS-107 mission. She along with six other crew members were a part of the ill-fated mission. While their entry into the Earth, their spacecraft got disintegrated and Kalpana Chawla along with crew members was lost.  

She got several recognition and awards for her contributions. Both Indian and American governments honoured her on numerous occasions.

Death

Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which occurred on February 1, 2003; she was killed, along with the other six crew members, when the Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.

Chawla's remains were identified along with the rest of the crew members and were cremated and scattered at National Park in Utah in accordance with her wishes.

Achievements and Accolades

Despite living in America, Kalpana Chawla was considered the pride of India. She was the first Indian woman to travel in a space shuttle for 372 hours and complete 252 rotations around the Earth's atmosphere. Her achievements have been an inspiration to many others in India and abroad. There are many science institutions named after her. During her lifetime, Kalpana Chawla was awarded with three awards namely the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, NASA Space Flight Medal and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Timeline

1961: She was born on 1st July in Karnal.

1982: She moved to the United States to complete her education.

1983: Married a flying instructor and aviation author, Jean-Pierre Harrison.

1984: got an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in Arlington.

1988: She received a Ph.D. in the same field and began to work for NASA.

1993: Joined Overset Methods Inc. as Vice President and Research Scientist.

1995: She joined the NASA 'Astronaut Corps.

1996: Kalpana was the mission specialist for prime robotic arm operator on STS-87.

1997: Her first mission on Flight STS-87 took place.

2000: Assigned on her second mission as part of Flight STS-107.

2003: Chawla got a second chance for the mission on Flight STS-107. On February 1st,

She died when the space shuttle broke down. Read more at

BIRTHDAY	17 March, 1962
BIRTH PLACE	Karnal , Haryana
COUNTRY	India
AGE (in 2003)	40 Years Old
BIRTH SIGN	Pisces
HEIGHT	in centimeters- 163 cm in meters- 1.63 m in Feet Inches- 5’ 4”
WEIGHT	in Kilograms- 55 kg in Pounds- 121.25 lbs