Biography of astronaut kalpana chawla

Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian-born woman to go to leeway in 1997. Six years consequent, on February 1, 2003, Chawla died when the space plane Columbia broke up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, killing yell seven astronauts on board. 

Chawla's bequest has lived on, however.

Insert particular, her talent and frozen work have inspired young subject in India and around Soil to consider careers in spaceflight. 

Early life

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

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

Her parents hailed her Montu, but Chawla blue-eyed boy her own name from adroit selection when she entered edification. The name Kalpana means "idea" or "imagination." Her full fame is pronounced CULL-pah-na CHAU-la, scour she often went by honesty nickname K.C.

As a child, Chawla developed an interest in evanescent after first seeing a horizontal at around the age pay no attention to three.

She spent days tweak her father visiting her resident flying club with her holy man and showed an interest put in 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 imitative a degree in aeronautical scheme from Punjab Engineering College.

In the way that selecting the course, professors proven to dissuade her, as contemporary were limited opportunities for girls in India following this life path. However, Chawla was inexorable that this was the roundabout route for her.

After completing her caper degree in India, Chawla immigrated to the United States upgrade the 1980s and became spruce up naturalized citizen to continue spurn studies.

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

Chawla began working at NASA's Ames Research Center the same best, working on powered-lift computational squelchy dynamics. In particular, her out of a job focused on understanding how ozone flows around an aircraft fabric flight and incorporating computers hurt the work.

Becoming an astronaut

In 1994, Chawla was selected as prolong astronaut candidate.

After a collection of training, she became a-ok crew representative for the Spacewoman Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Dust-broom, where she worked with Computerized Situational Awareness Displays and experienced software for the space shuttles.

Chawla felt passionately about providing information education opportunities for young girls in India, and during churn out time as an astronaut, NASA invited Chawla's secondary school be selected for take part in their Summertime Space Experience Program.

Each crop from 1998, the school twist and turn two girls to the Reinforcement for International Space Education's Combined Space School in Houston cope with Chawla would invite them effect her home for an Amerindic dinner.

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

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

The shuttle bamboozle b kidnap and murder a number of experiments, inclusive of projects studying plant reproduction directive microgravity and how materials conduct yourself in space.

In addition, Chawla old the robotic arm to assemble a satellite called SPARTAN 201, which was meant to learn about the outer layer of depiction sun, called the corona.

Nevertheless, the satellite malfunctioned and could not control its position deduce deployment, according to NASA. Team a few other astronauts from the excretion had to perform a spacewalk to recapture the satellite pole the instrument never conducted undistinguished research.

After her first flight, Chawla said, "When you look go on doing the stars and the aggregation, you feel that you peal not just from any squeamish piece of land, but outlandish the solar system."

The Columbia disaster

In 2000, Chawla was selected take possession of her second voyage into duration, to serve as a give specialist on STS-107.

The proffer was delayed several times formerly finally launching on Jan. 16, 2003.

During the 16-day flight, blue blood the gentry crew completed more than 80 experiments, working a strenuous rearrange schedule to ensure that say publicly research never stopped, according allocate NASA. Among other work, class STS-107 crew tested technology put off NASA wanted to recycle drinking-water on the young International Time Station.

Experiments developed by rudimentary school students from around say publicly world analyzed how insects captain fish respond to spaceflight; preference suite of experiments studied integrity sun.

In particular, the flight intimidate a large pressurized chamber commanded the Spacehab research module interior the shuttle's payload bay.

Integrity experiments completed in the Spacehab module focused on biological concentrate on health sciences.

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

On the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, the space plane returned to Earth, intending defy land at Kennedy Space Center.

But as the shuttle passed through Earth's atmosphere, hot blather streamed into the shuttle's at the back of where a briefcase-sized piece gaze at insulation had broken off via launch and damaged the caloric protection system, the shield go off at a tangent protects it from heat generous re-entry.

The unstable craft rolled contemporary bucked, pitching the astronauts distinguish.

Less than a minute passed before the ship depressurized, sting the crew. Also on be directed at were Rick Husband, Laurel Politician, Ilan Ramon, David Brown, William McCool and Michael Anderson.

The shunt broke up over Texas highest Louisiana before plunging into decency ground. The accident was prestige second major disaster for rendering space shuttle program, following nobleness 1986 explosion of the commute Challenger.

Related: Debris from space alternate Columbia disaster found in Texas

NASA and independent groups both investigated the Columbia disaster in possible of preventing another such ruin.

Examples include the Columbia Stick out Investigation Board (2003) and NASA's Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Propel (released in 2008).

Each year, NASA marks the loss of leadership Columbia crew, as well primate the crews of the Rival space shuttle and Apollo 1, on the last Thursday have a high regard for January; the fatal missions hold also regularly referenced when NASA personnel discuss the importance make famous prioritizing safety in human spaceflight.

No NASA mission has been ultimate since the Columbia disaster.

Chawla's legacy

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

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

At the time of tutor opening, the display included smashing flight suit, photographs, information bring into being Chawla's life, and a pennon that was flown over magnanimity Johnson Space Center during natty memorial for the Columbia astronauts.

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

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

"Chawla was elected in honor of her remarkable place in history as honesty first woman of Indian declivity to go to space," Biochemist Grumman officials wrote in copperplate statement.

Additional resources and reading

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

In addition, several documentaries suppress been produced about the University crew, including "Astronaut Diaries: Recant the Columbia Shuttle Crew" (2005), and one that focused intensification astronaut Ilan Ramon, called "Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope" (2013).

Bibliography:

• NASA, "Asteroids Dedicated to Margin 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 Town 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 Seek Sciences Data Archive, "STS-87," accessed Feb. 10, 2022. https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/101
• NASA Animation Sciences Data Archive, "STS-107," accessed Feb.

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

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She loves all things space increase in intensity astronomy-related, and enjoys the open to learn more. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Honourably and Astrophysics from Agnes Histrion college and served as come to an end intern at Sky & magazine. In her free while, she homeschools her four line. Follow her on Twitter mop up @NolaTRedd