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Summary
The first woman astronaut from India "The Great Kalpana Chawla". It is because of her intelligence, strong will and hard work that Kalpana realized her ambition to become the first ever woman astronaut from India. When the Columbia STS-107 plunged headlong, there were many who wished for a miracle-that the crew would emerge unscathed. But that was not what happened and among the seven stalwarts of humankind, we also had our very own Kalpana Chawla. She lived her dreams and died doing what she loved the most. When the space shuttle exploded just 16 minutes prior to landing, Kalpana Chawla had become enshrined in the laurels of human history. Her voyage from the remote Karnal to Cape Canaveral was one of struggle, determination and ultimate accomplishment. She assumed great risk at the behest of fulfilling her dreams and in the process inspiring many to follow her dream. She was the true inspiration for all and the prefect image of womanhood soaring beside men. The constellation of qualities that made her unique is endless and her life and death is mankind’s most coveted treasure. It is up to us to live her dream, according to which we should strive to do our bit to protect out fragile planet.
Early life:
Kalpana, meaning “imagination of the mind” in Sanskrit, was born in Karnal (Haryana), India, in 1961. Her father was Banarsi Lal Chawla and mother was Sanjogta Kharbanda. Both her father and mother carried the scars of post-partition Hindu-Muslim riots. Chawla’s father barely escaped with his life and he had to forfeit his ancestral village and settle in a village far away. Chawla was the youngest of four siblings. She attended the Tagore Bal Niketan Senior Secondary School in Karnal and always excelled in her studies. She was among the top five students when she passed out in 1976.
After graduating she decided to go for aeronautical engineering. This decision irked her father who wanted her to get into “more respectable positions” like doctor or teacher and even refused to accompany her to the interview. Accompanied by her mother, Chawla appeared for the interview in Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, India where a professor advised her against it because he felt that engineering was an “unladylike” profession. This statement in no way worried her because she was determined to cherish her ambition and she went on to obtain her bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1982 and also topped the class. Her father expressed his desire that she and her brother Sanjay should join him in his tire business, which was of least interest to Chawla.
Because of her brilliant results, she was invited to be a part of the faculty of her college.
At the same time, her application for masters in aeronautical engineering in the University of Texas had been accepted. But in the absence of her father, who was out in a business tour, she could not reply to the university because her father’s approval mattered. As a result, she had to take up the teaching position in her college. Earlier also, she could not attend the flying school where her brother went because her father did not allow her. Here, her brother played a key role because he made her realize that if she wanted to fulfill her ambitions, then she must fight her battles on her own. In an interview given to the web news organization, The Rediff Special, her father narrated his account of how he came to know about his daughter’s desire to study in the USA. After returning from his business trip, he didn’t even know that Kalpana was teaching in Chandigarh. It was when someone else remarked that he didn’t care for his daughter that it struck him and he personally talked to her in Chandigarh regarding her career aspirations. There he learnt that the deadline for the university admission was just five days away and was startled to know that Kalpana had a grudge against him for stunting her career. Setting to prove this accusation wrong, he pulled a few strings and managed to get her a ticket and visa just two days later. However luck was posing challenges to Kalpana, as her flight got delayed, and then cancelled. She managed to cross this hurdle by applying for late admission and soon she landed in Texas. The University had arranged to pick her up and her brother.
Middle Life:
She then earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984. Then she got into the University of Colorado in order to work for her doctorate. She obtained her second Master’s degree in Science in 1986 and received her Phd in in aerospace engineering in 1988. She had in the meanwhile developed a budding friendship with Jean Pierre Harrison, with whom she had got acquainted on the very first day she had landed in the US. Her brother knew of this relation and he again played an instrumental part in her life as he had made her parents agree to their marriage. Kalpana got married to Jean Pierre Harrison in 1988 and became a naturalized citizen of USA in 1990. She was very sensitive to the loss of her Indian citizenship and that’s why she regularly helped her native country. So every year she sponsored two deserving students for a trip to NASA. Through her husband she developed interests in scuba diving, long flying expeditions and hiking.
Armed with her PhD, Kalpana worked NASA Ames Research Center in the San Francisco Bay area. She researched on the stimulation of complex air flows that encountered around spacecraft. She got involved in more projects and then she became the vice president of Overset Methods, Inc. in Los Gatos in Silicon Valley. She was also a research scientist there and formed a team which studied the simulation of moving multiple body problems. Her work got recognition when it was published in journal and presented in conferences.
Then she became one of the 2000 astronaut candidates and much to her surprise was selected for the astronaut program in 1994 in the Johnson Space Center in Texas. Her petite frame did not fit in any of the astronaut suits because they were usually large and medium. She was just 5 feet tall. After a period of year-long training, she was signed on as crew representative, the responsibilities of which entailed working technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotic Situational Awareness Displays, and testing space shuttle control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. From there, she was appointed the mission specialist as well as prime robotic arm operator on STS-87. After this, her milestone first space trip on board the STS-87 took place on November 1997. It was a milestone because she was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. It was a huge honor for her country and also the full circle of her dream. The crew made a successful trip and landed on earth on 5th December, 1997 having made 252 orbits and traveling 6.5 million miles in 376 hours and 34 minutes.
Later Life:
In 2000 she got the opportunity to visit space once again. The crew members for the Columbia STS-107 were unique in the sense that it comprised of different race and gender, thus representing the whole of earth on space. They spent a lot of time as they went through rigorous training. Chawla in one of her e-mails to her friend, wrote about how much she was excited about the trip because it was like having a “wonderful dream again”. They made several experiments on board and was returning with another successful trip but fate came on the way. On its tragic return, the Columbia STS-107 blew apart just 16 minutes prior to landing. Kalpana, never placed her feet on earth’s surface. She got effaced in a place which constituted her dreams. She also left a permanent mark in the echelons of history. Her adopted country USA, as well as her native country India, lavished her with laurels. The accident inspires us about their efforts and also that we should not mourn their death as much as we should salute their historic trip, where they accomplished the grand dream of soaring beyond our planet.
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Achievements of
Kalpana Chawla
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India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on february 5, 2003 that the the meteorological series of satellites, "METSAT", will be renamed "KALPANA".
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She was honored with several posthumous awards like Congressional Space Medal of Honor
NASA Space Flight Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal etc.
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Selected as an astronaut in 1994.
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Kalpana Chawla had the highest number of hours-logged in space.
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U.S. doctorate & M.S. in aerospace engineering and B.S. in aeronautical engineering from India
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Quotations by/on
Kalpana Chawla
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" “When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system.” " -
Kalpana Chawla
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" I looked from space and I saw India's Himalayan Mountains and her mighty rivers. The Ganga Vally looked majestic. " -
Kalpana Chawla
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" She was a woman of great courage. " -
Kalpana Chawla
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Experiences with
Kalpana Chawla
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She was able to perform aerodynamic optimization.
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happy birthday kalpana ...
this brave daughter of India, took the world to the new heights ...r/>we are missing you ...
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Testimonials about
Kalpana Chawla
anu saji
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anu sajiDear Kalpana didi,
I am having great respect for you didi.As you know from my fifth standard onwards my wish is to follow your path.Now i am in tenth.I love physics very much.But my confidence level is very low,that today children who are intrested in science often chat with our APJ.Mine is a poor family.They are not having enough money to teach me aerospace engineering and all.But,if you are my didi,i will.YES,i willdo it.I will be the next KALPANA from india.But, you shold be there to help me
with luv
ANU
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depika m.n
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depika m.n reyighk9ituye546y587ser78u8opiewr9859rie gUhdkjiu kfouigrjuifgjuops rfasi[aoweps
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densi
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densishe is the real sta
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densi
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densishe is the real sta
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ROSEPREET GILL
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ROSEPREET GILLkalpna as her name defines her achievements.she done that thing ,girl can only imagine such difiicult task.she deserve salutes .she always like real star which always shine in the sky upto eternity.
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