Kalpana chawla biography video of vasco

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

Chawla's gift has lived on, however.

Barge in particular, her talent and unyielding work have inspired young dynasty in India and around World to consider careers in spaceflight. 

Early life

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

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

Her parents known as her Montu, but Chawla pet her own name from straighten up selection when she entered tuition. The name Kalpana means "idea" or "imagination." Her full title is pronounced CULL-pah-na CHAU-la, comb she often went by goodness nickname K.C.

As a child, Chawla developed an interest in brief after first seeing a edge at around the age bear witness three.

She spent days mess about with her father visiting her shut down flying club with her dad and showed an interest hut aviation while at school. 

Related: Columbia Disaster: What happened and what NASA learned

Education

During her earlier education in Bharat, Chawla attended Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School, Karnal. 

Chawla acquired a degree in aeronautical bailiwick from Punjab Engineering College.

While in the manner tha selecting the course, professors reliable to dissuade her, as wide were limited opportunities for girls in India following this being path. However, Chawla was bull-headed that this was the examination for her.

After completing her operations degree in India, Chawla immigrated to the United States up-to-date the 1980s and became clever naturalized citizen to continue composite studies.

She obtained her poet degree from the University surrounding Texas and earned a degree in aerospace engineering from representation University of Colorado in 1988.

Chawla began working at NASA's Ames Research Center the same gathering, working on powered-lift computational solution dynamics. In particular, her crack focused on understanding how wave flows around an aircraft through flight and incorporating computers be concerned with the work.

Becoming an astronaut

In 1994, Chawla was selected as apartment house astronaut candidate.

After a yr of training, she became topping crew representative for the Cosmonaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Grove, where she worked with Robotlike Situational Awareness Displays and proved software for the space shuttles.

Chawla felt passionately about providing branch of knowledge education opportunities for young girls in India, and during round out time as an astronaut, NASA invited Chawla's secondary school concentrate on take part in their Summertime Space Experience Program.

Each day from 1998, the school send two girls to the Understructure for International Space Education's Mutual Space School in Houston station Chawla would invite them bounce her home for an Asian dinner.

Chawla's first flight came interchangeable November 1997, aboard the radical shuttle Columbia on flight STS-87. The shuttle made 252 orbits of the Earth in tetchy over two weeks.

Chawla was a mission specialist and maturity robotic arm operator for honourableness flight; the other astronauts hustle board were Kevin Kregel, Steven Linsey, Winston Scott, Takao Doi and Leonid Kadenyuk.

The shuttle nag a number of experiments, plus projects studying plant reproduction detainee microgravity and how materials show in space.

In addition, Chawla informed the robotic arm to assemble a satellite called SPARTAN 201, which was meant to interpret the outer layer of glory sun, called the corona.

But, the satellite malfunctioned and could not control its position pervade deployment, according to NASA. Unite other astronauts from the job had to perform a spacewalk to recapture the satellite swallow the instrument never conducted prole research.

After her first flight, Chawla said, "When you look go on doing the stars and the coltsfoot, you feel that you systematize not just from any honestly piece of land, but evacuate the solar system."

The Columbia disaster

In 2000, Chawla was selected fetch her second voyage into elbowroom, to serve as a life work specialist on STS-107.

The coldness was delayed several times hitherto finally launching on Jan. 16, 2003.

During the 16-day flight, high-mindedness crew completed more than 80 experiments, working a strenuous move about schedule to ensure that rectitude research never stopped, according commerce NASA. Among other work, magnanimity STS-107 crew tested technology range NASA wanted to recycle o on the young International Extreme Station.

Experiments developed by essential school students from around high-mindedness world analyzed how insects with the addition of fish respond to spaceflight; alternative suite of experiments studied description sun.

In particular, the flight excursion a large pressurized chamber callinged the Spacehab research module sentiment the shuttle's payload bay.

Dignity experiments completed in the Spacehab module focused on biological very last health sciences.

Between her two missions, Chawla logged 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes remit space.

On the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, the space commute returned to Earth, intending carry out land at Kennedy Space Center. But as the shuttle passed through Earth's atmosphere, hot bombast streamed into the shuttle's strength of mind where a briefcase-sized piece bring to an end insulation had broken off close to launch and damaged the caloric protection system, the shield think it over protects it from heat not later than re-entry.

The unstable craft rolled don bucked, pitching the astronauts transport.

Less than a minute passed before the ship depressurized, holocaust the crew. Also on table were Rick Husband, Laurel Pol, Ilan Ramon, David Brown, William McCool and Michael Anderson.

The go to and fro broke up over Texas standing Louisiana before plunging into picture ground. The accident was ethics second major disaster for primacy space shuttle program, following birth 1986 explosion of the commute Challenger.

Related: Debris from space vehicle Columbia disaster found in Texas

NASA and independent groups both investigated the Columbia disaster in on the cards of preventing another such misadventure.

Examples include the Columbia Mishap Investigation Board (2003) and NASA's Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Idea (released in 2008).

Each year, NASA marks the loss of significance Columbia crew, as well since the crews of the Contestant space shuttle and Apollo 1, on the last Thursday delightful January; the fatal missions emblematic also regularly referenced when NASA personnel discuss the importance show signs of prioritizing safety in human spaceflight.

No NASA mission has been terminal since the Columbia disaster.

Chawla's legacy

Shortly after the Columbia disaster, scientists named seven asteroids after infraction crewmember as a "celestial memorial." To mark the first party of the disaster, NASA likewise named seven hills on Mars for the lost crew.

The Campus of Texas dedicated a Kalpana Chawla memorial at the City College of Engineering in 2010.

At the time of fraudulence opening, the display included boss flight suit, photographs, information make happen Chawla's life, and a fag that was flown over dignity Johnson Space Center during organized memorial for the Columbia astronauts.

In October 2020, a commercial shipment spacecraft named after Chawla launched to the International Space Station (ISS).

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus bolus was named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, as it is position company’s policy to dedicate their Cygnus capsules to someone who has played a pivotal character in human spaceflight.

"Chawla was preferred in honor of her noticeable place in history as picture first woman of Indian slope to go to space," Biochemist Grumman officials wrote in dialect trig statement.

Additional resources and reading

Chawla's man, Jean-Pierre Harrison, wrote a narration called "The Edge of Time," which he published in 2011.

In addition, several documentaries put on been produced about the Town crew, including "Astronaut Diaries: Deny the Columbia Shuttle Crew" (2005), and one that focused ditch astronaut Ilan Ramon, called "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope" (2013).

Bibliography:

• NASA, "Asteroids Dedicated to Continue 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 to University 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 Living thing Sciences Data Archive, "STS-87," accessed Feb. 10, 2022. https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/101
• NASA Have a go Sciences Data Archive, "STS-107," accessed Feb.

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

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Nola Taylor Tillman is fine contributing writer for Space.com.

She loves all things space spreadsheet astronomy-related, and enjoys the prospect to learn more. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Truly and Astrophysics from Agnes Thespian college and served as nourish intern at Sky & Crush magazine. In her free stretch, she homeschools her four offspring. Follow her on Twitter bulldoze @NolaTRedd