This very day is booked in the name of ‘Kalpana Chawla’. Kalpana was born in 1962 at Karnal, Punjab (now in Haryana). The beautiful Indian-American astronaut was the first Indian woman and second Indian person to step in the world of space. She died in an unfortunate space shuttle disaster. Kalpana Chawla is just not a name for Indians, it is an equivalent mention to the pride of India. The talented astronaut if didn’t face the tragic end of Space Shuttle Columbia disaster then she would have turned 55 today. In this article, we are writing about a few not much-known facts about Kalpana Chawla.
Unknown Facts About Kalpana Chawla
1. Educational Qualification
Kalpana Chawla was a student of Tagore School, Karnal. Later, she completed her aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College. She then moved to the US to pursue MS in aerospace engineering which she completed from the University of Texas at Arlington. Afterward, she opted for Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.
2. Neutralized Citizen Of United States
In 1991, Kalpana Chawla became the neutralized US citizen after which she applied for the NASA Astronaut Corps and finally became a part of it in 1995.
3. Her Space Missions
Kalpana had two space journeys in which she has logged on for 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes in space. In 1997, she went on her first space mission. After that, in 2002, when she was selected for her second space mission but the mission got delayed till 2003.
4. Her Death
The Indian American astronaut died just before 16 minutes of her space shuttle landing. Her space shuttle disintegrated over the city of Texas while it was re-entering the atmosphere of earth. In the last communication with her family, she said, “Our mission is successful and we are all fine here”. She had a flag with her while she met the unfortunate accident. The flag was designed by art students from India and was a constant reminder of the value of education for Kalpana.
5. Posthumous Honors
After her death, she was honored with the awards like Congressional Space Medal of Honor, NASA Space Flight Medal, and NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
That was the few facts about the pride of our India, Kalpana Chawla.
Also read: 15 Amazing Facts About The Space
Tiru Dehariya
