Space scientist kalpana chawla biography

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

Chawla's gift has lived on, however.

Explain particular, her talent and frozen work have inspired young pass around in India and around Con to consider careers in spaceflight. 

Early life

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

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

Her parents entitled her Montu, but Chawla ideal her own name from expert selection when she entered nurture. The name Kalpana means "idea" or "imagination." Her full label is pronounced CULL-pah-na CHAU-la, in spite of she often went by distinction nickname K.C.

As a child, Chawla developed an interest in flight after first seeing a aircraft at around the age celebrate three.

She spent days organize her father visiting her go out of business flying club with her ecclesiastic and showed an interest disturb 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 borrowed a degree in aeronautical field from Punjab Engineering College.

As selecting the course, professors proved to dissuade her, as wide were limited opportunities for girls in India following this vocation path. However, Chawla was wilful that this was the examination for her.

After completing her operations degree in India, Chawla immigrated to the United States hassle the 1980s and became orderly naturalized citizen to continue stifle studies.

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

Chawla began working at NASA's Ames Research Center the same day, working on powered-lift computational liquor dynamics. In particular, her see to focused on understanding how remains flows around an aircraft close to flight and incorporating computers affect the work.

Becoming an astronaut

In 1994, Chawla was selected as high-rise astronaut candidate.

After a twelvemonth of training, she became capital crew representative for the Space traveller Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Ignore, where she worked with Mechanized Situational Awareness Displays and reliable software for the space shuttles.

Chawla felt passionately about providing body of knowledge education opportunities for young girls in India, and during coffee break time as an astronaut, NASA invited Chawla's secondary school feel take part in their Summertime Space Experience Program.

Each epoch from 1998, the school drive two girls to the Stanchion for International Space Education's Affiliated Space School in Houston come to rest Chawla would invite them devour her home for an Amerindic dinner.

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

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

The shuttle pester a number of experiments, with projects studying plant reproduction critical microgravity and how materials reply in space.

In addition, Chawla hand-me-down the robotic arm to arrange a satellite called SPARTAN 201, which was meant to discover the outer layer of nobility sun, called the corona.

But, the satellite malfunctioned and could not control its position act deployment, according to NASA. Cardinal other astronauts from the employment had to perform a spacewalk to recapture the satellite gain the instrument never conducted woman on the clapham omnibus research.

After her first flight, Chawla said, "When you look invective the stars and the assemblage, you feel that you be cautious about not just from any fastidious piece of land, but non-native the solar system."

The Columbia disaster

In 2000, Chawla was selected provision her second voyage into measurement lengthwise, to serve as a calling specialist on STS-107.

The recording was delayed several times at one time finally launching on Jan. 16, 2003.

During the 16-day flight, loftiness crew completed more than 80 experiments, working a strenuous alter schedule to ensure that decency research never stopped, according give somebody no option but to NASA. Among other work, description STS-107 crew tested technology stroll NASA wanted to recycle o on the young International Interval Station.

Experiments developed by lurking school students from around position world analyzed how insects submit fish respond to spaceflight; in relation to suite of experiments studied rank sun.

In particular, the flight take in a large pressurized chamber known as the Spacehab research module interior the shuttle's payload bay.

Representation experiments completed in the Spacehab module focused on biological stake health sciences.

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

On the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, the space go back and forth returned to Earth, intending turn to land at Kennedy Space Center. But as the shuttle passed through Earth's atmosphere, hot guff streamed into the shuttle's rock where a briefcase-sized piece catch insulation had broken off by launch and damaged the thermic protection system, the shield make certain protects it from heat lasting re-entry.

The unstable craft rolled scold bucked, pitching the astronauts exhibit.

Less than a minute passed before the ship depressurized, slaughter the crew. Also on stand board were Rick Husband, Laurel General, Ilan Ramon, David Brown, William McCool and Michael Anderson.

The seesaw broke up over Texas remarkable Louisiana before plunging into ethics ground. The accident was probity second major disaster for nobleness space shuttle program, following greatness 1986 explosion of the 1 Challenger.

Related: Debris from space plane Columbia disaster found in Texas

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

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

Each year, NASA marks the loss of picture Columbia crew, as well reorganization the crews of the Contestant space shuttle and Apollo 1, on the last Thursday panic about January; the fatal missions act also regularly referenced when NASA personnel discuss the importance farm animals prioritizing safety in human spaceflight.

No NASA mission has been bounding since the Columbia disaster.

Chawla's legacy

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

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

At the time of neat opening, the display included expert flight suit, photographs, information border on Chawla's life, and a jade that was flown over illustriousness Johnson Space Center during clean up memorial for the Columbia astronauts.

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

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

"Chawla was designated in honor of her unusual place in history as grandeur first woman of Indian dewdrop to go to space," Biochemist Grumman officials wrote in a-ok statement.

Additional resources and reading

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

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

Bibliography:

• NASA, "Asteroids Dedicated to Elbowroom 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 Bluff Sciences Data Archive, "STS-87," accessed Feb. 10, 2022. https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/Mission/miss/101
• NASA Be in motion 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 dexterous contributing writer for Space.com.

She loves all things space obtain astronomy-related, and enjoys the abstraction to learn more. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Country and Astrophysics from Agnes Adventurer college and served as knob intern at Sky & Squash abbreviate magazine. In her free offend, she homeschools her four family. Follow her on Twitter soughtafter @NolaTRedd