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Kalpana Chawla – Indian-born American astronaut

Posted: 29 Jan 2010 02:30 AM PST

Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist. She was one of seven crewmembers lost aboard Space Shuttle Columbia during mission STS-107 when the shuttle disintegrated upon reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Kalpana Chawla is a posthumous recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

Chawla, a Hindu, was born in Karnal, Haryana, India. Kalpana is a Sanskrit name meaning “idea” or “imagination.” Her interest in flight was inspired by J. R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot and industrialist.

Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1996. Her first space mission began on November 19, 1997 as part of the six astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian-born woman and the second person of Indian origin to fly in space, following cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma who flew in 1984 in a Soviet spacecraft. It must be noted that while Rakesh Sharma represented India, Chawla was an American astronaut who represented the United States. Sharma and Chawla never met despite their common interests.