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Kalpana Chawla (July 1 1961 – February 1 2003),
was an astronaut and space shuttle mission
specialist. She died aboard STS-107 (Space Shuttle
Columbia) when it disintegrated during reentry
into the Earth's atmosphere. 

==Early life==


Chawla was born in Karnal, Punjab, India|Punjab
now Haryana, India. She did her schooling from
Tagore Bal Niketan School. Her interest in flight
was inspired by J. R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian
pilot.

==Education==
she done her higher secondry from tagore school,
karnal(hariana )in 1976.
  

Chawla studied aeronautical engineering at Punjab
Engineering College in Chandigarh, India in 1982
where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree.
Thereafter she moved to the United States to
obtain 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 Ph.D. in aerospace
engineering in 1988 from the University of
Colorado. Later that same year she began working
for NASA Ames Research Center. 

Kalpana Chawla became a naturalized United States
citizenship|United States citizen, and married
Jean-Pierre Harrison, a Certificated Flight
Instructor and aviation writer. 

Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor
rating for airplanes and gliders and Commercial
Pilot licenses for single and multiengine
airplanes, seaplanes and gliders.

==NASA career==

Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March
1995 and was selected for her first flight in
1996. Her 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 Union|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 travelled over 6.5
million miles in 252 orbits of the earth, logging
more than 375 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 identified errors in software
interfaces and flight crew and ground control
procedures. Chawla was fully exonerated and
significant changes to procedures and software
resulted from the final report.

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.

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 unfortunately never able to follow up
on invitations to visit India after she became an
astronaut.

==Personal characteristics==

Chawla and her husband lived adjacent to Johnson
Space Center in Houston, Texas. Chawla was a
strict 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 of a
Deep Purple show, "...but (she) nevertheless
characterized the show as a 'spiritual
experience.'" Chawla had no interest in religion
and did not attend or participate in any such
activities - especially after arriving in the
United States. She enjoyed birdwatching,
backpacking, hiking, flying, and reading.

== Memoria ==
* Shortly after her last mission, India renamed
its first weather satellite Kalpana-1 in her
honor.

* Asteroid 51826 Kalpanachawla is named for her.

* 74th Street in New York, New York|New York City
has been renamed 4th Street Kalpana Chawla Way in
her honor.  

* The University of Texas at Arlington opened a
dormitory named in her honor, Kalpana Chawla Hall,
in 2004.

* NASA has dedicated a super computer to Kalpana.
--
http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template
=Columbiacrash&slug=NASA+dedicates+super+computer+
to+Kalpana&id=58219&callid=1&category=National&hea
dline=NASA~dedicates~super~computer~to~Kalpana
(ndtv)

She died a hero and a role model for many young
women, especially in India and particularly those
in her hometown of Karnal where her life serves to
encourage young people to follow in her footsteps.


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."

== See also ==
* Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
*space science

== External links ==

*
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chawla.html
NASA Biographical Data - Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D.
*
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-1
07/memorial/chawla.html Kalpana Chawla STS-107
Crew Memorial
*
http://www.local6.com/orlpn/news/stories/news-1907
24020030114-080119.html Kalpana Chawla -- Mission
Specialist
*
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A127
02-2003Feb1.html Kalpana Chawla: 'Golden Girl'
Gave Youth In India Chance to Dream
*
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/india_chawla_
030206.html India Renames Satellite in Memory of
Columbia Astronaut
*
http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/in1/wwwhambpoem.h
tml Ode For Kalpana
*
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/120/story_12076.htm
l Seven Heroes, Seven Faiths
* http://www.saja.org/tipschawla.html Reporter
Tips, Dr. Kalpana C. Chawla, astronaut
* http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/feb/01spec.htm
The Chawla's odyssey
*
http://www.uta.edu/engineering/news/astronauts/cha
wla/chawlalong.php Chawla's education and first
mission