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Kalpana Chawla: To Infinity and Beyond

Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian origin woman to go to space is the glory of the Nation. The name Kalpana itself indicates imagination or idea– the girl who sketched her dreams, followed her imagination, flew high beyond the sky.

“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.” Kalpana said after her first flight into the space.

She from her sight told us and proved that she is not a particular piece of land but from the solar system. Dreaming of solar system, she never stopped until she reached it and one day she disappeared into the solar system. The whole Nation is remembering Kalpana Chawla on her birth anniversary.

Early life

Kalpana in her childhood

On 17th March in 1962 in a town named Karnal in Haryana, Kalpana Chawla took her birth. Her parents called her “Montu” and when she entered education she picked her own name that is “Kalpana” which means imagination or idea.

Education

Kalpana developed an interest in flying from childhood and she liked to spend days visiting her local flying club with her father. Chawla obtained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College. Later Kalpana moved to United Space in 1982 and obtained her Masters Degree from the university of Texas and earned Doctorate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1988.
Chawla began working in NASA in 1988. In 1991 Chawla obtained the citizenship of U.S. and then applied for the NASA Astronaut Corps.

Mission to space

Kalpana’s First Flight – Space Shuttle Colombia STS-87

Chawla’s first space mission accomplished in 1997. She became the part of six astronaut crew who flew the Space Shuttle Colombia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian woman to go to space. Chawla spent 15 days and 16 hours in the space covering 6.5 millions miles.

Death

In 2003 Chawla took her second and last flight Space Shuttle Colombia STS-107. Chawla was the Mission Specialist.  She logged 30 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space. In the morning on 1st February in 2003 the space shuttle returned to Earth. While entering the Earth’s atmosphere Colombia broke up catastrophically just few minutes before landing and killed all the seven members including Kalpana. The space shuttle was destroyed at about 7:30 PM IST on February 1, 2003.

Kalpana and her crew in Space Shuttle Colombia STS-107
During her last few days

Reason of death

Columbia disaster Space Shuttle Stored at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board in its investigation found that a hole was punctured in the leading edge on one of the wings of Columbia during the launch. When the shuttle re-entered the atmosphere, the damage enabled hot atmospheric gases to penetrate the heat shield. This destroyed the internal wing structure and made the spacecraft unstable, causing it to break apart.

A girl who is a golden mark in the history is now an infinity.

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