Kalpana Chawla Death Anniversary: Kalpana Chawla was the first woman of Indian descent to fly to space. She was passed away on 1st February 2003 in a space shuttle Columbia crash while returning to earth after completion of the space mission. Due to the friction from the atmosphere, the spaceship was burnt.
All seven astronauts who were on board the spacecraft have died in this accident, Kalpana Chawla was also among them.
Here are some lesser-known facts about India’s first female astronaut:
- Kalpana Chawla was born in 1962 in Karnal, Haryana, and later moved to America at the age of 20 years. Two years later, she completed a master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering
- She joined NASA as an astronaut in 1995 and was selected for her first flight in the year 1998. On her first trip, she spent 372 hours in space and completed 252 Earth orbits
- Kalpana studied BE (Aeronautical Engineering) from Punjab Engineering College
- She was the youngest one of four sisters and brothers at home and her nickname is Montu
- In childhood, flying in planes and sky enthralled her
- The final rites of Kalpana Chawla were performed at Zion National Park, Utah, USA
- After the tragic accident, many universities, roads have been named in her honor
- NASA has dedicated one supercomputer to Kalpana Chawla on 12th May 2004
