Kalpana Chawla
Astronaut

American Karnal, Haryana, India

Quick Info

Profession	Astronaut
Nationality	American
Date of Birth	17/03/1962
Age	40 years (died on 01, Feb, 2003)
Birthplace	Karnal, Haryana, India
Date of Death	01/02/2003

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Bio/Wiki

Real Name	Kalpana Chawla
Nickname	Monto

Physical Stats & More

Height	163 cm
Eye Color	Dark Brown
Hair Color	Black

Educational Qualification(s)

School	Tagore Bal Niketan School, Karnal
College/University	Dyal Singh College, Karnal, Haryana Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh, India The University of Texas, Arlington, Texas, U.S. The University of Colorado, Boulder, U.S.
Educational Qualifications	Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas Second Masters and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado

Personal Life

Place of Death	Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas, U.S.
Age (as on 1 February 2003)	40 Years
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Cancer
Hometown	Texas, U.S.
Religion	Hinduism
Hobbies	Reading Poetry Playing Badminton Dancing

Relationships & More

Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Boyfriends	Jean-Pierre Harrison
Husband/Spouse	Jean-Pierre Harrison (flying instructor and an aviation author)
Marriage Date	1983

Family

Father	Banarasi Lal Chawla (deceased)
Mother	Sanjyothi Chawla
Siblings	Sanjay Sunita Dipa 1 other

Career

NASA Missions	STS-87 STS-107 STS-87 (November 1997 - December 1997) STS-107 (January 16, 2003 - February 1, 2003)
Combined Time Spent in Space	30 days 14 hours and 54 minutes
Combined Distance Travelled	10.67 million km
Awards (Posthumous)	Congressional Space Medal of Honor NASA Space Flight Medal NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Career Start	1988 at NASA Ames Research Center
Research Focus	Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) on vertical and short take-off and landing (V/STOL) concepts, powered lift effects, and aerodynamic optimization
Pre-NASA Astronaut Role	Vice President and Research Scientist at Overset Methods Inc. (1993)
NASA Astronaut Selection	December 1994
Astronaut Training Start	March 1995 at Johnson Space Center, Houston
STS-87 Details	Mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator; deployed Spartan Satellite; traveled 10.4 million miles in 252 orbits; logged 376 hours in space
STS-107 Details	Mission specialist; conducted nearly 80 experiments in microgravity over 16 days
Pilot Certifications	Certified Flight Instructor for airplanes and gliders; Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multi-engine airplanes and seaplanes

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Kalpana Chawla made history as the first Indian-origin woman in space.
2. She held certifications as a pilot for seaplanes, multi-engine airplanes, and gliders.
3. Kalpana picked her own name when enrolling in nursery school.
4. She conducted research on Computational Fluid Dynamics at NASA Ames Research Center.
5. NASA honored Kalpana Chawla by dedicating a supercomputer to her.
6. She became a naturalized United States citizen in April 1991, a requirement for joining the NASA astronaut corps.
7. During STS-87, the Spartan Satellite she deployed malfunctioned; a NASA investigation exonerated her by identifying errors in software interfaces and flight procedures.

Information on this page is collected from public sources and may not be 100% accurate. Report an error

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