Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla

American, Astronaut
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Kalpana Chawla
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Kalpana Chawla (17 March 1962 – 1 February 2003) was an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.

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Kalpana Chawla was born on Saturday, 17 March 1962 in Karnal, Haryana, India. She was best known as an astronaut. Chawla's country of citizenship (nationality) was American. She died on Saturday, 1 February 2003 in Texas, USA (inside Space Shuttle Columbia) at the age of 40. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.. Kalpana attended high school at Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School. For university, she studied at Punjab Engineering College. She was 5' 4" (163 cm) tall and weighed 124 lbs (56 kg) with a slim build. She had dark brown eyes and black hair (color). Her zodiac star sign was Pisces.

You can find people similar to Kalpana Chawla by visiting our lists American commercial aviators and American women astronauts.

Full name at birth add_black full name at birth
Claim to fame
NASA's first Indian astronaut and the first Indian-born woman in space
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Date of birth
17 March 1962
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Place of birth
Karnal, Haryana, India
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Date of death
1 February 2003
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Age
40 (age at death)
Place of death
Texas, USA (inside Space Shuttle Columbia)
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Resting place
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
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Occupation
Astronaut, Aerospace Engineer
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Occupation category
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Nationality
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PERSONAL DETAILS

Height
5' 4" (163 cm)
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Weight
124 lbs (56 kg)
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Build
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Hair color
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Eye color
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Gender
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Ethnicity
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Sexuality
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Religion add_black religion
Zodiac sign
Distinctive feature
Smile
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Pets add_black pets

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Residence
  • Karnal, Haryana, India
  • Boulder, Colorado, USA
  • Chandigarh, India
  • Arlington, Texas, USA
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High school
Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School
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University
  • Punjab Engineering College
  • University of Texas at Arlington
  • University of Colorado Boulder
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Talent agency add_black talent agency
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  • Kalpana Chawla was a Certified Flight Instructor who held ratings for airplanes, gliders, and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes, and gliders.
  • According to her wishes, her remains were cremated and scattered at Zion National Park in Utah.
  • Along with the other 6 crew members (commander Rick D. Husband, pilot William C. McCool, mission specialist David M. Brown, mission specialist Michael P. Anderson, mission specialist Laurel B. Clark, and payload specialist Ilan Ramon), she died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
  • She was selected for her 2nd flight as part of the 7-member crew of STS-107 in 2000. Eventually, she returned to space on January 16, 2003, on the STS-107 mission and the crew performed around 80 experiments studying Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety.
  • Chawla joined Overset Methods, Inc. as Vice President and Research Scientist in 1993. She specialized in the simulation of moving multiple body problems.

Kalpana Chawla is known for her role in the TV series documentary Seconds from Disaster (2004) as Self.

She is also known for her role in the TV mini series documentary When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions (2008) as Self.

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