Tribute to Kalpana Chawla, the First Indian Woman in Space - Happy 55th Birth Anniversary

Kalpana Chawla is the first Indian-born woman to fly in space. She inspired millions worldwide to dream of flying and believing the sky's the limit. Kalpana would have turned 55 today creating more stories, if not for that fateful crash on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia perished upon entering into the earth's atmosphere leading to her death and six other astronauts. Without a doubt, Kalpana was the brightest real life star of her times, a powerful woman of strong mettle whose achievements have been included in course curriculum of top international educational institutions.

Birth of an Astronaut

Kalpana Chawla was born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, India. She was the first Indian-American astronaut and first Indian woman in space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997, as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.

Kalpana meaning Imagination, the name that she gave herself

Apparently her parents never gave her a formal name but nicknamed her Montu. She picked her formal name at age three when she was brought to a nursery school by her aunt. The principal asked her name to which her aunt replied: "We have three names in our mind - Kalpana, Jyotsna and Sunaina." When the principal asked her to pick a name she chose Kalpana, so amazing...

Kalpana, a NASA scientist

After completing her degree from Punjab Engineering College, she applied for Master of Science in University of Texas. After finishing the masters in 1984, to increase her prospects of becoming an astronaut at NASA, she enrolled for a Ph.D. In 1988, she completed her Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado.

Kalpana Chawla will be remembered for Ages

• The 74th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City was renamed to 'Kalpana Chawla Street'
  
• In her honour, the Haryana government set up a medical college and hospital in Karnal worth Rs 650 crore
  
• There's a hill on Mars with her name
  
• A NASA Supercomputer is named after her
  
• An asteroid that circles between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter called the ‘51826 Kalpana Chawla’
  
• India’s first weather satellite, the Kalpana 1
  
• A planetarium in Kurukshetra, near Karnal.
  
  

Biopic on Kalpana Chawla

Priyanka Chopra is going to be cast in the biopic on Kalpana Chawla. The former Miss World, who has been busy conquering the West, did her last Bollywood movie 'Jai Gangaajal' back in 2016. Since then, all of India is waiting to watch her again on a big screen. Recently, the actress, in a live chat session revealed that a Bollywood film is on the cards. She has been reportedly going through few scripts for her next big one. Now according to latest reports, the actress has given the go ahead for the biopic on Kalpana Chawla and will begin shooting for the same from next month.