KALPANA CHAWLA

                                                                                            

Kalpana was born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, which is a small town in Haryana. Her family originally hails from Multan District (now in Pakistan), who settled in Karnal following the Partition of India. Kalpana’s official date of birth was altered to July 1, 1961, to allow her to become eligible for the matriculation exam. As a child, Kalpana was fascinated by aeroplanes and flying. She went to local flying clubs and watched planes with her father. Chawla said "Every once in a while we'd ask my dad if we could get a ride in one of these planes''. And, he did take us to the flying club and we had a joyride in the Pushpak and a glider that the flying club had."Her first space mission began on November 19, 1997, as part of the six-astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian woman to fly in space. She spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, "You are just your intelligence." Furthermore, she went to a local school to complete her primary studies. Kalpana was always a diligent student. Moreover, she was good in her academics. After completing her schooling, Kalpana went to college for graduation. She took admission in Punjab University and then in Aeronautical engineering. Most Noteworthy is that she was the only girl student in the entire batch. This signifies that she always took a different path from others and was a leader. Furthermore, after completing her graduation she went abroad for further studies.

                                                                                   

Chawla died on February 1, 2003, in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, along with the other six crew members, when the Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107. Chawla's remains were identified along with those of the rest of the crew members and were cremated and scattered at Zion National Park in Utah in accordance with her wishes.The Death of Kalpana Chawla struck sadness in the minds of Indians. Yet she will always be a great inspiration for all the Indian women.Moreover, we should see life as an opportunity to fulfill our dreams. Kalpana always took life as a challenge and an opportunity. Because of this only she was able to achieve such heights.