Kalpana Chawla. The first Indian woman in Space.
Background
Kalpana Chawla (1962-2003) is the first woman of Indian origin to be sent into space. Kalpana grew up in Karnal Haryana and attended school at the Tagore Baal Niketan Snior Secondary School. As a child and young adult she enjoyed going to flying clubs and watching planes. In order to be elligible for the matriculation exam her parents lied about her age, saying she was a year older than what she actually was. This allowed her to enter into college early. Chawla earned two masters degrees, one from the University of Texas at Arlington, and the second from the University of Colorado Boulder(CU). She also earned a PhD in aerospace engineering from CU Boulder. Her hard work in school and the support from her parents allowed her to pursue her dreams to be an astronaut.
Space Exploration
Her first mission to space was flowin in 1997 when she was 35 on the space shuttle Columbia. Her role on the mission was a mission specialist as well as the primary robotic arm operator. Later, in 2003 Chawla was selected to be a part of the mission STS-107 which took place again on the Columbia. Tragically, this mission ended in failure when the spacecraft splintered into pieces upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere. After this tragic passing she was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. In India, she is highly regarded as a national hero, and many schools and streets have been named in her honor. Even today missions to space are named in her honor.
The crew of the STS-107, all of which tragically passed in 2003 as the Columbia disintegrated.
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