Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American aerospace engineer and NASA astronaut, the first woman of Indian origin to fly in space. She flew her first mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-87 in 1997 as a mission specialist. On her second flight, STS-107 in early 2003, Chawla was among the seven crew members killed when Columbia broke apart during reentry on February 1, 2003, a disaster later traced to damage the orbiters heat shield sustained from foam debris during launch.
Facts
Defining ContributionFirst woman of Indian heritage to fly into space 3 Notable Mission Classification
Astronaut Role Dating
Selection Year In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: India, nationality there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: United States, nationality there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationKalpana Chawla, Wikipedia - lead section, astronaut roleQuote, Kalpana Chawla, Wikipedia - lead section, astronaut role
In 1994, she returned to NASA in the hopes of becoming an astronaut, undergoing a year of training before being assigned as a mission specialist and robotic arm operator in her first space mission, STS-87.
2. Kalpana Chawla (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia Kalpana Chawla lead section infobox, selection field (w-bbfill-edspace5-0927)View the Source 3. Kalpana Chawla - Wikipedia
Infobox, birth_date
1962-03-17
Early life and education
Kalpana Chawla was born on March 17, 1962
Infobox, death_date
2003-02-01
Lead, sentence 1
Indian-born American astronaut
Lead, sentence 2
Chawla participated in two spaceflights, STS-87 and STS-107
Lead, sentence 1 [defining-contribution]
first woman of Indian heritage to fly into space
View the SourceWikidata: Kalpana Chawla
Wikidata Q237879, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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