Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut. She was the first woman of Indian origin to fly in space and became one of the most widely remembered astronauts lost in the Columbia accident.
- Born
- March 17, 1962
- Died
- February 1, 2003
- Birthplace
- Karnal, Haryana,India
Flights
2
Spacewalks
0
EVA time
N/A
In space
31 days, 14 hours, 54 minutes
Bio
Chawla studied aeronautical engineering in India before moving to the United States for graduate study in aerospace engineering. Her engineering background led to research, flight instruction, and eventually NASA astronaut selection.
Her first spaceflight was STS-87, where she served as and robotic arm operator. Her second was STS-107, Columbia's dedicated research mission.
On February 1, 2003, Columbia broke apart during , killing Chawla and her six crewmates.