1. KALPANA CHAWLA
Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962[2][a] – February 1, 2003) was born in Karnal, India. She was the
first Indian-American astronaut[3]and first Indian woman in space.[4] She first flew on Space
Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic armoperator. In 2003,
Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[5]
Career[edit]
In 1988, she began working at the NASA Ames Research Center as Vice President of Overset
Methods, Inc. where she didComputational fluid dynamics (CFD) research on Vertical/Short
Takeoff and Landing concepts.[6] Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for airplanes,
gliders and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes and
gliders.[7]
Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in April 1991, Chawla applied for the NASA Astronaut
Corps.[2] She joined the Corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1996. She
spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, "You are just your
intelligence". She had traveled 10.67 million km, as many as 252 times around the Earth.
![KALPANA CHAWLA
Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962[2][a] – February 1, 2003) was born in Karnal, India. She was the
first Indian-American astronaut[3]and first Indian woman in space.[4] She first flew on Space
Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic armoperator. In 2003,
Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[5]
Career[edit]
In 1988, she began working at the NASA Ames Research Center as Vice President of Overset
Methods, Inc. where she didComputational fluid dynamics (CFD) research on Vertical/Short
Takeoff and Landing concepts.[6] Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for airplanes,
gliders and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes and
gliders.[7]
Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in April 1991, Chawla applied for the NASA Astronaut
Corps.[2] She joined the Corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1996. She
spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, "You are just your
intelligence". She had traveled 10.67 million km, as many as 252 times around the Earth.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/bindhu-kalpanachawla1-140921020546-phpapp02/85/kalpana-chawla1-1-320.jpg?cb=1411265188)
