Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla

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, she was one of the seven crew members who died when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

About Kalpana Chawla in brief

Summary Kalpana ChawlaKalpana 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, she was one of the seven crew members who died when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. She was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and several streets, universities, and institutions have been named in her honor.

She is regarded as a national hero in India. She spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, \”You are just your intelligence. \” On her first mission, she traveled over 10. 4 million miles in 252 orbits of the earth, logging more than 372 hours in space. Her remains were identified along with those of the other six crew members when the Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its 28th mission, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its mission, STS-107.