The conversation about India’s achievements in space is incomplete without mentioning Kalpana Chawla. She scripted history as she was the first India-origin astronaut to have gone into space! She went on her first space mission in 1997, and was on board the shuttle as a robotic arm operator! March 17 marks Kalpana Chawla’s 61st birth anniversary, what better day than today to know some of the lesser-known facts about her? So, without further ado, let’s dive into knowing more about Kalpana Chawla.
Fascination with flying
Hailing from Karnal, Haryana, Kalpana Chawla finished her bachelor’s education at Punjab Engineering College before moving to the US to study Masters Of Science. Kalpana also obtained a PhD. She was in awe of seeing the aeroplanes and flying from her childhood.
Work at NASA
Before her first space mission, Kalpana Chawla worked at the Ames Research Centre at NASA. She worked on pushing out research technical papers. After she got the citizenship of the United States, Kalpana joined the NASA Astronaut Corps, the unit that trains astronauts o go to space.
Was in space for 376 hours for the first time
Kalpana Chawla’s first space mission took flight in 1997. She had joined the six-astronaut crew on her first mission to space. During this, she spent 15 days and 16 hours which in total amounted to 376 hours. She was assigned the position of a technician at the space station.
Her married life
Kalpana Chawla was married to Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1983, and was 21 years old then. Filmmakers had approached him to get to know more about their lives but Harrison refused on grounds of maintaining privacy.
Also read: Kalpana Chawla’s 10 Unseen Pics Released As NFTs By Husband, Proceeds To Go To Education Of Poor Children.
Satellites, asteroids named after her
Kalpana Chawla’s name will always be written in golden ink in history. Satellites were named after her when Atal Bihari Bajpayee was the prime minister. Novelist Peter David also honoured Kalpana by naming a space shuttle in his book, Star Trek, after her.
Kalpana Chawla is a role model and an inspiration to many girls today. It is important for today’s generation to know about her and her achievements!