Kalpana Chawla Birthday: Kalpana Chawla was born on March 17, 1962. She was the first Indian woman to journey into space. Kalpana not only achieved milestones in the realm of space but also inspired numerous students to live their dreams. Although her flight was tragically halted on February 1, 2003, with the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, she remains an exemplar for the world. Her words became truth when she said, "I was made for space."
Kalpana Chawla, a NASA scientist and astronaut, was born in Karnal, Haryana. She was the first Indian woman to journey into space (having acquired American citizenship).
Her father's name was Banarsi Lal Chawla, and her mother's name was Sanjyothi. Kalpana tied the knot with Jean-Pierre Harrison, a flying instructor from France.
Kalpana was the youngest among her four siblings. At home, everyone affectionately called her Montu. She started her early education at Tagore Baal Niketan Sr. Sec. School in Karnal. When she reached the 8th grade, she expressed her desire to become an engineer to her father.
Kalpana's father wanted her to become a doctor or a teacher. Relatives say that Kalpana had been interested in space and astronomical changes since childhood. She often asked her father how spacecraft fly in the sky? Can I also fly? Her father used to laugh and dismiss this idea.
When Kalpana completed her graduation studies, she then went to America in 1982 to fulfil her dreams. She pursued space science studies. Then in 1988, she joined NASA's research. After that, in 1995, NASA selected Kalpana Chawla for space travel.
She completed her first space flight on the STS-87 Columbia Shuttle. Its duration was from November 19, 1997, to December 5, 1997.
During her first space journey, she spent a total of 372 hours in space and completed 252 orbits around the Earth.
Following the success of this mission, Kalpana embarked on her second flight aboard the Columbia Shuttle in 2003.
Kalpana's second and final flight commenced on January 16, 2003, aboard the space shuttle Columbia. It was a 16-day space mission entirely dedicated to scientific research.
On February 1, 2003, during the re-entry process to Earth, the spacecraft disintegrated upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. Along with Kalpana, the tragedy claimed the lives of six other astronauts.
According to media reports, it was known as soon as the Columbia Space Shuttle embarked on its flight that it would not land safely on the ground.
It was decided that all seven astronauts would meet their end in the face of death. Yet, they were not informed about it.
It is surprising, but this is true. This disclosure has been made by the program manager of Columbia Mission.
Kalpana Chawla and her six companions continued their spacewalks under the shadow of death every moment of their space journey.
They were not even allowed to suspect that they could not return safely to Earth. They remained dedicated to their mission, sending minute-by-minute updates to NASA.
However, in return, NASA didn't let them know that they had left Earth forever, and only the pieces of their bodies remained to return.
At that time, the question was why NASA did this? Why did it hide information from the astronauts and their families? However NASA's scientific team did not want the astronauts who went on the mission to live the last moments of their lives in fear.
They thought it better to keep them blissful until the accident occurred. Death was inevitable anyway.
