From Karnal To NASA
Kalpana Chawla Continues To Inspire Young Girls In India
An Extraordinary Journey
She enrolled at Punjab Engineering College to pursue Aeronautical Engineering; a rare career path women undertook in the 1980s
An Extraordinary Journey
She got admission into the University of Texas, where she obtained Masters of Science (MS) in Aerospace Engineering two years later, in 1984
An Extraordinary Journey
The next few years, 1986 and 1988, proved to be monumental as Chawla went on to study the subject further and received a PhD in the same from the University of Colorado
In 1988, joined NASA to research in the area of powered-lift computational fluid dynamics. 4 years later, she applied to become a part of the Astronaut Corps .
Daring To Dream
The years 1996 and 97 were forever etched in history as Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian-born woman to travel to space. Onboard the Columbia STS-87
Daring To Dream
After returning to Earth in September 1997, Chawla was just 40 years old when she became a part of the crew for her second space mission in 2003.
Source : TheLogicalIndia
Ill-Fated Mission
February 1, 2003, everyone's eyes peeled to their television screens, everyone was excited to welcome the astronauts back to Earth
Ill-Fated Mission
But unfortunately, On entering the Earth's atmosphere, hot air entered into the shuttle's wing , resulting in its eventual disintegration just 16 minutes before landing.
Ill-Fated Mission
The crew's untimely demise broke numerous hearts across the world. The country mourned Chawla's death as many looked up to her with hopes and dreams in their eyes.