Columbia Crew by NASA

Chawla aboard The Columbia by Getty Images

Dr. Kalpana Chawla was the youngest of four children, born in Karnal, India in 1962. Until she started school, her parents called her Montu, but Chawla picked her own name from a selection when she entered education. The name Kalpana means “idea,” or “imagination,” but she often went by the nickname K.C. in school. Her curiosity in aviation began when she was 3 years old, after seeing a plane for the first time. She would accompany her father to the local flying club, after that.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Panjab Engineering College, a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington, and a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Chawla held pilot licenses for airplanes, gliders, and seaplanes. Dr. Chawla joined NASA’s Ames Research Center in 1988, where she specialized in the fluid dynamics of aircraft.

In 1991, Chawla was awarded her United States citizenship, and NASA selected Chawla as an astronaut in late 1994. She officially began astronaut training in 1995. “For me, it was very far-fetched to think I get to fly on the space shuttle because I lived in India in a very small town. And forget about space. I didn`t even know if my folks were going to let me go to the engineering college,” said Chawla.

Chawla flew on two Space Shuttle missions as a mission specialist. On November 19, 1997, she launched on board Space Shuttle Columbia as part of STS-87. Chawla specialized in operating the robotic arm, which she used to deploy the Spartan Satellite. She made history as the first Indian woman and the first South Asian American woman to fly in space. Indian Prime Minister, Inder Kumal Gujral, called Chawla in space to congratulate her on her journey and express pride in her representing India in space. After this flight, she said, “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.”

In 2000, Chawla was selected for her second voyage into space, to serve as a mission specialist on STS-107. The mission was delayed several times before finally launching on Jan. 16, 2003. During the 16-day flight, the crew completed more than 80 experiments, working a shift schedule to ensure that the research never stopped.

Chawla and the other six crewmembers–commander Rick D. Husband, pilot William C. McCool, mission specialists David M. Brown, Michael P. Anderson, and Laurel B. Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon–were tragically killed when Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry on February 1, 2003, just 16 minutes prior to its scheduled landing. There has been no fatal NASA mission since the Columbia disaster. Each year, NASA marks the loss of the Columbia crews, as well as the crews of the Challenger space shuttle and Apollo 1, in January, in their honor. Each crewmember had an asteroid named after them on the first anniversary of the disaster, as a “celestial memorial,” and the seven hills on Mars is also named in their honor.

The University of Texas dedicated a memorial to Kalpana Chawla at the Arlington College of Engineering in 2010. At the time of its opening, the display included a flight suit, photographs, information about Chawla’s life, and a flag that was flown over the Johnson Space Center during a memorial for the Columbia astronauts. She also received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Congressional Space Medal of Honor, posthumously, in recognition of her career and sacrifice.

Resources

Biographical data – NASA. (n.d.). https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/chawla_kalpana.pdf

Kalpana Chawla: The first South Asian American woman in Space. Homepage. (n.d.). https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/kalpana-chawla

Tillman, N. T., & Harvey, A. (2022, February 10). Kalpana Chawla: Biography & Columbia disaster. Space.com. https://www.space.com/17056-kalpana-chawla-biography.html

Yang, J., Zahn, H., & Merchant, A. (2023, May 14). Remembering Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian American to go to space. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/remembering-kalpana-chawla-the-first-indian-american-to-go-to-space