Kalpana Chawla was an American astronaut, engineer, and the first woman of Indian origin to go to space.
She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.
In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
As a child, Kalpana went to local flying clubs and watched planes with her father.
After getting a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, she moved to the United States in 1982 and obtained a master's in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984.
Chawla went on to earn a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder.
In 1988, she began working at NASA Ames Research Center. She became a U.S. citizen in 1991 and Chawla applied for the NASA Astronaut Corps. She was selected for her first flight in 1996.
On her first mission, Chawla logged more than 372 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.
After the completion of STS-87 post-flight activities, Chawla was assigned to technical positions in the astronaut office to work on the space station.
On 16 January 2003, Chawla finally returned to space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on the ill-fated STS-107 mission. The crew performed nearly 80 experiments studying Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety.
