Kalpana Chawla

Infobox Astronaut
name =Kalpana Chawla
ਕਲਪਨਾ ਚਾਵਲਾ
कल्‍पना चावला


type = Astronaut
nationality =USA
status =Deceased
date_birth =17 March 1962
date_death =1 February 2003 (aged 40)
place_birth =Karnal, Haryana, India
place_death =Over Texas
previous_occupation =Research Scientist
selection =1994 NASA Group
time =31d 14h 54m
mission =STS-87, STS-107
insignia =|

Kalpana Chawla ( _hi. कल्‍पना चावला) ( _pa. ਕਲਪਨਾ ਚਾਵਲਾ) (17 March 1962 – 1 February 2003), was an Indian-American astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist. She was one of seven crewmembers killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

"'Early life

Kalpana Chawla was born in a Hindu Indian family in Karnal, Haryana, India. [cite web | url = http://www.spacetoday.org/SpcShtls/ColumbiaExplosion2003/ColumbiaExplosion.html | title = Tragedy of Space Shuttle Columbia | publisher= Space Today| accessdate=2007-06-08] "Kalpana" in Sanskrit means "imagination of the mind" and thus also "creation." Her interest in flying was inspired by J. R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot and industrialist.cite web| url = http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/bio_chawla.html | title=Astronaut Biography, Kalpana Chawla | publisher= Space.com | accessdate=2007-06-02] [cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.columbia.india/index.html | title= India mourns space heroine | publisher = CNN | accessdate=2007-06-02]

Education

Kalpana Chawla studied at Tagore Public School, Karnal for her earlier schooling and she pursued further studies aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh, India, in 1982 where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. She was one of the three women in the college at the time. She moved to the United States in 1982 and obtained a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (1984). Chawla earned a second Master of Science degree in 1986 and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Later that year she began working for NASA Ames Research Center as vice president of Overset Methods, Inc. where she did CFD research on V/STOL. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for airplanes, gliders and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multiengine airplanes, seaplanes and gliders. She held an FCC issued Technician Class Amateur Radio license with the call sign KD5ESI. She met and married Jean-Pierre Harrison, a flying instructor and aviation writer, in 1983 and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1990. [cite web | url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004020800090400.htm&date=2004/02/08/&prd=mag&| title = She lived her dream | publisher= "The Hindu" newspaper, India | accessdate=2007-06-08]

NASA career

Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1998Her first space mission began on November 19,1997 as part of the six astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian-born woman and the second person of Indian origin to fly in space, following cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma who flew in 1984 in a Soviet spacecraft. It must be noted that while Rakesh Sharma represented India, Chawla was an American astronaut who represented the United States. Sharma and Chawla never met despite their common interests. On her first mission Chawla traveled over 10.4 million miles in 252 orbits of the earth, logging more than 360 hours in space. During STS-87, she was responsible for deploying the Spartan Satellite which malfunctioned, necessitating a spacewalk by Winston Scott and Takao Doi to capture the satellite. A five-month NASA investigation fully exonerated Chawla by identifying errors in software interfaces and the defined procedures of flight crew and ground control.

After the completion of STS-87 post-flight activities, Chawla was assigned to technical positions in the astronaut office, her performance in which was recognized with a special award from her peers.

In 2000 she was selected for her second flight as part of the crew of STS-107. This mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems such as the July 2002 discovery of cracks in the shuttle engine flow liners. On January 16 2003 Chawla finally returned to space aboard "Columbia" on the ill-fated STS-107 mission. Chawla's responsibilities included the SPACEHAB/FREESTAR microgravity experiments, for which the crew conducted nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety. [ [http://www.montsu.org Kalpana Chawla Family Foundation for Education and the Environment] ] [ [http://www.kalpanachawlanasa.com An Exclusive Website on Kalpana Chawla] ] [ [http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chawla.html NASA Biographical Data - Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D.] ] [ [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/chawla_kalpana.htm Spacefacts biography of Kalpana Chawla] ] [ [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-107/memorial/chawla.html Kalpana Chawla STS-107 Crew Memorial] ] [ [http://www.local6.com/orlpn/news/stories/news-190724020030114-080119.html Kalpana Chawla -- Mission Specialist] ] [ [http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/india_chawla_030206.html India Renames Satellite in Memory of Columbia Astronaut] ] [ [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/120/story_12076.html Seven Heroes, Seven Faiths] ] [ [http://www.saja.org/tipschawla.html Reporter Tips, Dr. Kalpana C. Chawla, astronaut] ] [ [http://withfriendship.com/user/sushant17585/kalpana-chawla.php Pictures of Kalpana Chawla] ] [ [http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/feb/01spec.htm The Chawlas' odyssey] ] [ [http://www.amfcse.org/honor/chawla.htm Astronaut Memorial Foundation webpage] ]

Chawla's last visit to India was during the 1991 - 1992 new year holiday when she and her husband spent time with her family. For various reasons, Chawla was never able to follow up on invitations to visit India after she became an astronaut.

Personal characteristics

Chawla was a vegetarian. On her mission, she carried a white silk banner as part of a worldwide campaign to honor teachers, as well as nearly two dozen CDs, including ones by Abida Parveen, Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar, and Deep Purple. She went to her first rock concert, a Deep Purple show, in 2001 with her husband. "Kalpana is not necessarily a rock music aficionado", her husband said at a Deep Purple show, "...but (she) nevertheless characterized the show as a 'spiritual experience.'" She enjoyed birdwatching, backpacking, hiking, flying, and reading. Quoting philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca she always said, "I was not born for one corner; the whole world is my native land." [ [http://www.floridatoday.com/columbia/columbiastory2N1029TECH.htm Florida Today - Florida Tech dedicates dorms to Columbia 7 - October 29 2003] ]

Awards

Posthumously awarded:
* Congressional Space Medal of Honor
* NASA Space Flight Medal
* NASA Distinguished Service Medal
* Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM).

Memoria

* "Kalpana Chawla Memorial Scholarship" program was instituted by Indian students association (ISA) at the [University of Texas at El Paso] [(UTEP)] in 2005 for meritorious graduate students. [cite web| url=http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=45209 | title = Kalpana Chawla Memorial Scholarship | publisher = UTEP| accessdate=2008-06-10]
* Asteroid "51826 Kalpanachawla", one of seven citations named after the Columbia's crew [cite web | url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2003/columbia-tribute.cfm | title=Tribute to the Crew of Columbia | publisher = NASA JPL | accessdate=2007-06-10]
* On February 5 2003, India's Prime Minister announced that the meteorological series of satellites, "METSAT", will be renamed as "KALPANA". The first satellite of the series, "METSAT-1", launched by India on September 12 2002 will be now known as "KALPANA-1". "KALPANA-2" is expected to be launched by 2007. [cite web| url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=732 |title=ISRO METSAT Satellite Series Named After Columbia Astronaut Kalpana Chawla | publisher=Spaceref.com | accessdate=2007-06-10]
* 74th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City has been renamed "74th Street Kalpana Chawla Way" in her honor.
* The University of Texas at Arlington (where Chawla obtained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1984) opened a dormitory named in her honor, "Kalpana Chawla Hall", in 2004. [cite web | url = http://policy.uta.edu/index.php?navid=15956&view=16896&resid=15866 | title=More about Kalpana Chawla Hall | publisher = University of Texas at Arlington | accessdate=2007-06-10]
* "Kalpana Chawla Award" award was instituted by the government of Karnataka in 2004 for young women scientists [cite web| url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/23/stories/2004032310280500.htm | title = Kalpana Chawla Award instituted | publisher = The Hindu| accessdate=2007-06-10]
* The girls hostel at Punjab Engineering College, is named after Kalpana Chawla. In addition, an award of INR twenty five thousand, a medal, and a certificate is instituted for the best student in Aeronautical engineering department [cite web | url = http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=18844 | title = Punjab Engineering College remembers Kalpana | pubgjflisher=Indian Express|accessdate=2007-06-10]
* NASA has dedicated a super computer to Kalpana. [cite web | url = http://space.about.com/cs/nasanews/a/chawlacomputer.htm | title=NASA Names Supercomputer After Columbia Astronaut | publisher= About.com | accessdate=2007-06-10]
* One of Florida Institute of Technology's student apartment complexes, Columbia Village Suites, has halls named after each of the astronauts, including Chawla.
* NASA Mars Exploration Rover mission has named seven peaks in a chain of hills, named the Columbia Hills, after each of the seven astronauts lost in the Columbia shuttle disaster, including Chawla hill after Kalpana Chawla.
* Steve Morse from the band Deep Purple created a song called "Contact Lost" in memory of the Columbia tragedy along with her interest in the band. The song can be found on the album "Bananas". [ [http://www.hobbyspace.com/Music/music1.html HobbySpace - Space Music - Rock/Pop] ]
* Kalpana Chawla has inspired several young Indians aspiring to be astronauts. [cite web | url = http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/02kalp.htm | title=Kalpana Chawla: Inspiration for a generation | publisher = Rediff India News | accessdate=2007-06-02]
* Her brother, Sanjay Chawla, remarked "To me, my sister is not dead. She is immortal. Isn't that what a star is? She is a permanent star in the sky. She will always be up there where she belongs." [cite web | url = http://www.indianembassy.org/US_Media/2003/feb/Los%20Angeles%20Times%20A%20Muse%20for%20Indian%20Women.htm | title= 'COLUMBIA IS LOST' A Muse for Indian Women | publisher= LA Times (reprint on IndianEmbassy.org)| accessdate=2007-06-02]
*Novelist Peter David named a shuttlecraft, the "Chawla", after the astronaut in his 2007 "Star Trek" novel, "Star Trek: The Next Generation: Before Dishonor". [David, Peter; "Star Trek: Next Generation: Before Dishonor"; Page 24.]

External links

* [http://www.montsu.org Kalpana Chawla Family Foundation]
* [http://www.peopleforever.org/NFHomepage.aspx?NFID=66 Celebrating Life of Kalpana Chawla]

ee also

* Space science

References

Further reading

*"Among The Stars-Life and Dreams of Kalpana Chawla" by Gurdeep Pandher
*"India's 50 Most Illustrious Women" (ISBN 81-88086-19-3) by Indra Gupta