10 unknown facts about KALPANA CHAWLA!

Remembering Kalpana Chawla on her Birthday!

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It's been 13 years since we lost one of the finest astronauts in the experiment of Space Shuttle Columbia on the ill-fated STS-107 mission. She was the first Indian-born woman and the second Indian person to fly in space. And after all these years we still remember her for the heroic act.

Apart from the Astronaut that we knew, let's see some of the unknown facts about her.

1. Birth

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She was born on March 17,1962. But her official birth date was changed to 1 July,1961 for admission purpose. Born to an average middle class family in Karnal, Haryana.

2. Education

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She completed her schooling from Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School in Karnal. And her B.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College at Chandigarh in 1982.

3. Higher education

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She moved to USA in 1982 and pursued degree of Masters in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in Arlington. Then in 1986, she got her second degree of Masters and in the year of 1988, she became a Doctor of PHD in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado situated in Boulder.

4. Hobbies

She learnt karate in her college days. She also played Badminton and took part in running races.  Her husband records that she made it a point to learn everything that caught her fancy - including scuba diving and Bharatnatyam.

5. Flight Instructor

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She was certified with a commercial pilot license for the seaplanes, multi engine air place and glider. She also was a Certificated Flight Instructor for glider and airplanes.

6. Marriage life

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She got married to Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1983, who was a flying instructor and an aviation author.Now he runs a publishing house in California.-He has written a book about her life, The Edge of Time: The Authoritative Biography of Kalpana Chawla, which was released in 2011. 

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7. Life at NASA

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She got the position of Vice President of Overset Methods, Inc at NASA  Research Center. After being the vice president at NASA, she was assigned to make Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research on Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing concepts.

8. Awards

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After becoming a US citizen in 1991, she applied for the membership of NASA Astronaut Corps .She achieved many awards such as Congressional Space Medal of Honor, NASA Space Flight Medal and NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

9. Original Name

Her parents named her Monto. But she chose her name, Kalpana and adopted Monto as her nick name.

10. Things named after her

• Kalpana 1 - India's first weather satellite,
• A Nasa Supercomputer
• A planetarium in Kurukshetra, near Karnal
• A hill on Mars
• The 51826 Kalpanachawla  - An asteroid which circles the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Another interesting fact : The shuttle she flew along with other 6 members, STS-107 Columbia took off on 16 January on a 16-day flight. It disintegrated 16 minutes before its scheduled landing. Co-incidence much?!!

Our country has had some great people and Kalpana will definitely be one among them who made us proud. She would have been 55-years today if she had lived. She has been and will continue to be a diligent role model for many of us.

Take a bow Kalpana Chawla! You taught us many things through your death.

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