Infinite space generates curiosity in everyone's mind. Even today, our dream is to go into space once and see what our earth looks like from there, many must have seen. But only those arriving in space are rare. One of them is Kalpana Chawla, the first female astronaut of Indian origin.
Kalpana, born on 17 March 1962 in Karnal, Haryana, was the youngest of her four siblings. When she reached eighth grade, she expressed her desire to become an engineer with her father. But, Kalpana's father was building a dream to see her as a doctor or teacher. Kalpana often asked her father how these spaceships fly, can I also fly? From childhood, Kalpana was interested in space and astronomy.
Kalpana was the first female graduate of Punjab Engineering College to get an aeronautical engineering degree from Punjab Engineering College in 1982. Kalpana got admission to two American universities for further studies.
In 1984, he received an aerospace engineering degree from the University of Texas. He then received his Ph.D. in 'Aerospace Engineering' from the University of Colorado. Meanwhile, Kalpana Chawla married Jean Pierre Harrison on 02 December 1983.
Kalpana started working for NASA in 1988. Then came the day in December 1994 when Kalpana got a dream of space travel. Kalpana was selected as an astronaut for a space mission.
In the year 1997, Kalpana got the opportunity to go on a space mission for the first time. On 19 November 1997, Kalpana Chawla created new history as she left for a space mission. Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian woman to go into space.
Kalpana was in the role of a mission specialist in a crew of six on this mission. The mission covered 10.4 million miles. Kalpana successfully returned to Earth on 05 December 1997 from this 16-day mission, and when she took off from her vehicle, she said, "I am ready to go on to my next mission."
Kalpana believed that space is the future, and the coming generation should know about it. In the same sequence, Kalpana Chawla used to call two students from her school, Tagore Bal Niketan, Karnal, to NASA every year to know what works, and how NASA does. Kalpana Chawla used to tell those students that whatever your goal is, look at it and chase it.
On 16 January 2003, Kalpana flew for her second mission. The mission was "Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107", the 113th mission of the space shuttle program. Kalpana was also in the role of mission specialist on this mission with seven astronauts. 80 scientific experiments were conducted on this 16-day mission.
The Special Shuttle was to return from the mission on February 01. Kalpana was to return to Earth with her crew on this day. There was news of his return everywhere. The STS-107 Special Shuttle was about to hit the ground when it turned into a fireball just 16 minutes before landing. The entire team including Kalpana died in this accident. The world sank in an ocean of mourning.
The then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on February 5, 2003, in the Parliament House. During a condolence meeting for Kalpana Chawla announced that the satellite of the Indian meteorological series, Metasat, would be named Kalpana. Recently, NASA named its astronaut, the first Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla, to reach the International Space Station. Speaking on the occasion, her husband Jean Harrison said, "Kalpana is very happy to know that this rocket is named after her."
Kalpana Chawla always used to say that I am made for space, and on February 01, 18 years ago, she merged in the same place. Kalpana Chawla is no more, but her story, her flight, will remain an inspiration for generations to come.
Comment
No Comment Here