Story
Kalpana Chawla, born in Karnal, Haryana, was an aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut. She first flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997, and lost her life when Columbia broke up on re-entry in 2003. She remains an inspiration to young Indians.
Key contributions
- Mission specialist on STS-87 (1997)
- Flew again on STS-107 (2003)
- PhD in aerospace engineering; India's meteorological satellite was renamed 'Kalpana-1' after her