Kalpana
Chawla was an astronaut and a space mission specialist. She was the
first Indian woman in space. In this we shall know more about her early life,
education , career at NASA and the Last mission which was a disaster.
Early Life:
Kalpana
Chawla was born on July 1, 1961, in Karnal, India. Kalpana was open
minded in her thoughts and unique in her attitude.The name Kalpana means ‘idea’
or ‘imagination’. Her full name is pronounced CULL-puh-na CHAV-la, though she
often went by the nickname K.C.
Education:
Kalpana
Chawla completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan Senior
Secondary School, Karnal and completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree
in Aeronautical Engineering at Punjab Engineering College at Chandigarh in
1982. In 1982, she moved
to the United States for higher studies. There, she obtained a Master of
Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at
Arlington in 1984.
Career at Nasa:
In 1988, she began working
at the NASA Ames Research Center, where she did Computational Fluid Dynamics
(CFD) research on Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing concepts. In 1994, she was selected by NASA and reported to the
Johnson Space Center in March 1995 as an astronaut candidate in the 15th Group
of Astronauts.
After completing a year of
training and evaluation, she was assigned as crew representative to work
technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. In
1996, She was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on
STS-87. She flew on STS-87 (1997) and STS-107 (2003) and has logged
30 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space. She also held many positions in NASA even before
becoming an astronaut.
Last Mission:
In the year, 2000,
Kalpana was selected for her second flight as part of the crew of STS-107. The
mission got repeatedly delayed and Kalpana returned to space on January 16,
2003. On Feb 1, 2003, the space shuttle returned to Earth, intending to land at
Kennedy Space Center.
At launch, a
briefcase-sized piece of insulation had broken off and damaged the thermal
protection system. As the shuttle passed through the atmosphere, hot gas
streaming into the wing caused it to break up. Less than a minute passed before
the ship depressurized, killing the entire crew.
In the midst of
expanding the human knowledge, she sacrificed her precious life and became an
inspiration for many people. She
will always be remembered as one of the earliest women who went so far in
making the nation proud. India is really
proud of her.
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