Occupation
Indian-born American Astronaut and Aerospace Engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space.
Birth/Death Dates
March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003
Summary
Kalpana Chawla was a NASA astronaut and the first woman of Indian heritage to go to space. She was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
Educational Background
- BEng, Punjab Engineering College
- M.S., University of Texas, Arlington
- M.S., University of Colorado, Boulder
- Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder
Struggles this Innovator Overcame
Chawla was born into a Punjabi Hindu family and a conservative society. She broke several traditions to become the first Indian-born female astronaut.
Problems this Innovator Solved
1988 – (NASA Ames Research Center) – Research concentrated on the simulation of complex air flows encountered around aircraft and mapping flow solvers to parallel computers.
1997 – (First space mission) – As a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator, Chawla worked on developing Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and testing space shuttle control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory.
2003 – (Second space mission)—This mission was dedicated to science and research. Eighty experiments were conducted. (Chawla, along with six other crew members, tragically passed away on this mission.)
How this inventor changed the world (or at least their corner of it)
Chawla flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator aboard STS-87. Chawla’s second flight was on STS-107, the final flight of Columbia, in 2003. She was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on February 1, 2003.
Lasting changes from this inventor’s work or how they trailblazed
Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor,and several streets, universities, and institutions are named in her honor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla
