Lesser Known facts about 1st Indian woman astronaut
<p>Who doesn’t know Kalpana Chawla? A young energetic woman who become inspiration to many at a very young age. Today is the 60th Birth anniversary of Kalpana… Born in Karnal, Haryana to parents Banarasi Lal Chawla and Sanjyoti Chawla was the youngest kid amongst all 4 siblings.It was from a young age she developed the interest in flying and aviation since her school days. She used to visit local flying clubs with her father and would see the planes. She pursued the degree of aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh after completing her initial studies at Karnal.Also Read: Know Interesting Facts About Zakir HussainIt was in 1986 when she moved to the US in order to perceive her dream to be an astronaut, where she received a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Finally after completing her PHD in the same filed y 1988, she started her career from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US</p>
11:24 AM Mar 17, 2023 IST
Who doesn’t know Kalpana Chawla? A young energetic woman who become inspiration to many at a very young age. Today is the 60th Birth anniversary of Kalpana… Born in Karnal, Haryana to parents Banarasi Lal Chawla and Sanjyoti Chawla was the youngest kid amongst all 4 siblings.
It was from a young age she developed the interest in flying and aviation since her school days. She used to visit local flying clubs with her father and would see the planes. She pursued the degree of aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh after completing her initial studies at Karnal.
It was in 1986 when she moved to the US in order to perceive her dream to be an astronaut, where she received a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Finally after completing her PHD in the same filed y 1988, she started her career from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US. She was married Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1983.
Following are some of the lesser known facts about her:
- Besides being a successful astronaut she also loved writing poetry, other than that she was also active in various sports activities during her school days.
- Talking about her 1st journey to the space, it was in year 1997 at space shuttle Columbia.
- It was only her 2nd space visit, which was disrupted while entering the earth’s atmosphere while retuning back killing all the 7 astronauts in 2003.
- After her death, country’s 1st woman astronaut was cremated and scattered at the National part at Utah, in the US.
- MetSat-1, the first satellite under the Met-Sat series, which was launched on September 12, 2002 by India, was renamed Kalpana-1.
- The Kalpana Chawla Award was established by the Karnataka government to award young women scientists.
- Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College, Karnal, Haryana was established in 2017.
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