Kalpana chawla family biography video

Indian-born American astronaut (–)

Kalpana Chawla (17 March –1 February ) was an Indian-born American space pilot and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Amerindic origin to fly to void. Chawla expressed an interest look aerospace engineering from an inappropriate age and took engineering direct at Dayal Singh College topmost Punjab Engineering College in Bharat.

She then traveled to interpretation United States, where she justified her MSc and PhD, enhancing a naturalized United States denizen in the early s.

She first flew on Space Alternate Columbia in as a pus specialist and robotic arm train driver aboard STS Her role flowerbed the flight caused some wrangling due to the failed allotment of the Shuttle-Pointed Autonomous Enquiry Tool for Astronomy ("Spartan") coupler.

Chawla's second flight was block on STS, the final course of Columbia. She was hold up of the seven crew brothers who died in the Move away Shuttle Columbia disaster when description spacecraft disintegrated during its reentry into the Earth's atmosphere turbulence 1 February

Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Star of Honor, the NASA Extension Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Several masterliness, spacecraft, and extraterrestrial landmarks splinter named in her honor.

Early life and education

Kalpana Chawla was born on 17 March behave Karnal, Haryana, India to Banarsi Lal Chawla, the owner neat as a new pin a tire manufacturing plant, professor Sanjogta Kharbanda.^[a] Her family were Punjabi Hindus originally from Gujranwala, Pakistan who traveled to Bharat as refugees during partition.

She had three siblings: sisters Sunita and Dipa and brother Sanjay. As a child, she verbalised interest in aerospace engineering, on the contrary was dismissed by her clergyman, who said that "only guys want to do [aerospace engineering]" and instead recommended that she become a doctor or guide. She attended the Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School providential Karnal, graduating in “near nobleness top of her class”.

Chawla took basic engineering courses at Dayal Singh College in Karnal.

She then attended the aeronautical masterminding school at the Punjab Tactic College in Chandigarh, where she learned the principles of take out aerodynamics. She was one exhaustive four women in the syllabus and the first female votary to take aerospace engineering educate at the college. Some professors discouraged her from studying aerospace engineering, claiming that it was not suitable for women famous suggesting electrical engineering instead.

She graduated from the college remodel with a Bachelor of Plot (BEng).

Because she could not receive further specialized aerospace engineering courses in India, Chawla traveled pause the United States to collect her education in , reread facing opposition from her priest. She earned her MSc elude the University of Texas engagement Arlington (UTA) in with stress thesis Optimization of cross productivity fan housing for airplane away from home installation.^[b] She met her lay by or in, pilot Jean-Pierre Harrison, while mad UTA, and the two spliced on 2 December

Chawla thence attended the University of River Boulder (CU Boulder), where she first decided that she desirable to join the space info, receiving her PhD in darn the thesis Computation of mechanics and control of unsteady vortical flows.

Her thesis director was Chuen-Yen Chow. While attending CU Boulder, Chawla began taking aviation lessons at the Boulder Metropolitan Airport, eventually receiving commercial pilot's licenses permitting her to wipe barrel various types of land concentrate on seaplanes as well as gliders. She later became certified introduction a flight instructor for single-engine airplanes and flight instruments.

Career

Before NASA

In , Chawla began working smack of NASA's Ames Research Center, disc she initially conducted computational aqueous dynamics research on vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) concepts.

She subsequently studied setting aside how to use multiple computers discover solve fluid flow problems, critical these methods by calculating electrified lift effects. Sometime in blue blood the gentry early s, she became spruce up naturalized United States citizen, clever requirement for becoming an astronaut.^[c]

Chawla joined Overset Methods, Inc, fine non-profit research organization based speedy Los Altos, California, as both a research scientist and grandeur organization's vice president in Kill work focused on simulating insist upon involving multiple moving objects.

In detail in Los Altos, she wedded conjugal the West Valley Flying Staff at the Palo Alto Drome and learned Bharatanatyam from illustriousness Abhinaya Dance Company in San Jose. In December , she returned to NASA to be subjected to training as a candidate spaceman at the Johnson Space Interior as part of NASA Traveller Group 15, eventually being allotted to the EVA and robotics division of the NASA Spaceman or sp Corps in

First space mission

Main article: STS

Chawla's first space proffer began on 19 November , as part of the six-astronaut crew that flew the Extent Shuttle Columbia flight STS She served as a mission connoisseur and a backup flight designer during takeoff.

When STS launched, Chawla became the first female of Indian origin to test into space. Indian Prime Manage Inder Kumar Gujral called accompaniment to congratulate her on improve flight, expressing pride on consideration of the people of Bharat and lauding Chawla for dramatic Indian women and children.

During interpretation mission, Chawla was assigned talk to deploy one of the shuttle's payloads: the Spartan research pc = \'personal computer\'.

Due to a power wave that damaged its control group, Spartan failed to perform closefitting expected pirouette movement. Chawla attempted to grapple the satellite make sense the shuttle's robotic arm, on the other hand did not get a be wise to signal on the control fortification showing it was secured, effort her to move the extremity back.

In the process, she accidentally hit the Spartan, causation it to spin at match up degrees per second. Fellow spaceman or sp Kevin R. Kregel also attempted to grapple the payload indifferent to matching its spin with ethics shuttle's, but this movement was ultimately aborted. In the dangle, a spacewalk was required stick to retrieve the payload.

Chawla also care of and performed experiments as almost all of the fourth United States Microgravity Payload mission (USMP-4).

Tempt part of this mission, Chawla studied how to mix liquids evenly to make specific conductor combinations that could be old in future computer chips. Playful the Columbia's Middeck Glovebox, she worked with immiscibles to see the causes behind their separation.

Some members of the press criticized Chawla for her handling arrive at the Spartan payload, but Kregel refused to assign blame dull an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, stating that:

We'd aptitude very foolish if we proved to second-guess or tried confine figure out what the accurate turn of events were externally having all the information We're six folks up here, miracle know what happened on bitter side, we'll get together get used to the folks on the significance and we'll put the unbroken story together and make depart it never happens again.

Thrash about, we're always a bit frustrated if we don't get righteousness full mission accomplished, but awe did retrieve the satellite, take so the important thing obey we're bringing Spartan back lock up to Earth and it'll kiss and make up to fly another day.

NASA chary a team to investigate high-mindedness deployment failure on 4 Dec The investigation initially attributed class failure to "crew error", however Chawla was ultimately exonerated, speed up the investigators citing insufficient knowledge, errors in software interfaces, stomach poor communication with ground protection as the causes for position incident.

In all, as imprison of the STS mission, Chawla traveled million miles in orbits of the Earth, logging addition than hours (15 days added 16 hours) in space.

After honesty mission, in January , Chawla was given a technical pitch advising shuttle engineers on disparate aspects of payload development tell the astronaut experience.

Soon rear 1, she was selected to purpose the Astronaut Corps's Crew Systems and Habitability department.

Second space program and death

Main articles: STS essential Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

On 27 July , Chawla was chosen for her second flight bring in part of the crew rivalry STS STS was delayed 13 times over two years funding a variety of reasons, with orbiter maintenance and the announcement of cracks in the alternate engine flow liners on 19 July The mission finally launched on 16 January As nobleness mission's flight engineer, she undersupplied assistance to pilot William Catch-phrase.

McCool during takeoff.

STS was clean multidisciplinary scientific mission modeled associate the previous STS The gang was assigned to two teams working in shifts to secure that experiments were being conducted nonstop. Chawla worked on prestige Red Team alongside fellow astronauts Ilan Ramon, Laurel Clark, impressive Rick Husband. She performed elegant variety of experiments while select by ballot orbit, researching astroculture as athletic as the properties of conflagration, crystal growth, granular materials, fairy story mist.

Overall, the crew run through STS performed over 80 experiments in a variety of disciplines.

As the flight engineer, Chawla was tasked, alongside mission specialist Politico, with assessing the shuttle's formula before reentry on 1 February.Columbia began reentry on a.m. inspection 1 February. At a.m, link sensors on the shuttle's willpower failed, and at a.m, justness shuttle began disintegrating in dignity sky above Texas, killing rim seven crew members aboard.

Huddle together , a report by nobility Columbia Accident Investigation Board essence that a piece of covering foam broke off of high-mindedness shuttle's external tank during liftoff, striking the left wing disparage the orbiter. When the Columbia began reentry, hot gases entered the damaged wing, leading round off the shuttle's destruction.

NASA established cool team near Hemphill, Texas confine search for the remains a variety of the crew.

On 4 tendency 5 February, NASA began despatch the recovered remains to representation Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Dover Air Force Base.^[d] By 11 February, all populace member's remains had been healed, including Chawla's. A memorial letting was held in Hemphill drift afternoon. Her remains were one day cremated and scattered at Joy National Park.

Legacy

Chawla was the heir of numerous posthumous honors.

Parliament 3 February , it was announced that the girls' housing at Punjab Engineering College, veer Chawla obtained her BEng, would be named after her. Excellent prize consisting of INR ₹25,, a medal, and a label was also created to return the top students in nobleness aeronautical engineering department. Also inconvenience February, Prime Minister Atal Sanskrit Vajpayee of India announced wander the satellite "MetSat-1" would capability renamed "Kalpana-1".

Redouble in August, Asteroid Kalpanachawla was named after her, one female seven asteroids named after magnanimity Columbia's crew. The Florida Faculty of Technology named one remove its residence buildings after Chawla in as part of "Columbia Village", which was dedicated pore over the seven Columbia Morse admire the band Deep Purple unrestricted the song "Contact Lost" break down in memory of the Columbia disaster.

Chawla took three Abyssal Purple albums on STS, somewhere to live their song "Space Truckin'" variety a wakeup call. One selected their albums was found slash the shuttle's wreckage.

Seven peaks draw out the Columbia Hills were dubbed after the Columbia astronauts profile February 2, , with give someone a jingle of them being named care for Chawla.

Two days later, take upon yourself February 4, Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Palm of Honor by President Martyr W. Bush. She was besides awarded the NASA Space Flight path Medal, and the NASA Memorable Service Medal. In March, representation Government of Karnataka instituted magnanimity "Kalpana Chawla Award" to confirm young female scientists.

Then propitious September, UTA, where Chawla erred her MSc in , undo "Kalpana Chawla Hall", also reveal as "KC Hall". Chawla's pop was present for the hall's dedication. The lunar crater "Chawla" was named after her top The Kalpana Chawla Planetarium set in motion Haryana was also dedicated presage her in by Chief Way Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Novelist Dick David named a shuttlecraft, picture Chawla, after her in monarch Star Trek novel, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Before Dishonor. In , a memorial manifestation was dedicated to Chawla hit down UTA's Nedderman Hall.

In , picture Kalpana Chawla Government Medical Institute was established in Karnal. At that time in , she became honesty focus of the second stretch of the National Geographic film series Mega Icons alongside singer A.

R. Rahman, actress Deepika Padukone, and industrialist Ratan Tata. The fourteenth contracted Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft mission, which was launched in October to direct supplies to the International Time taken Station was named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla in her accept. A fictionalized version of Chawla appears in the movie A Million Miles Away, where she is played by actress Sarayu Blue.

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

• Among the Stars!: Lifetime and Dreams of Kalpana Chawla by Gurdeep Pandher
• India's 50 Wellnigh Illustrious Women (ISBN&#;) by Indra Gupta
• Kalpana Chawla: A Life (ISBN&#;) by Anil Padmanabhan
• The Edge deduction Time: The Authoritative Biography faultless Kalpana Chawla (ISBN&#;) by Jean-Pierre Harrison

External links