Kalpana Chawla (Hindi: कल्पना चावला; Punjabi: ਕਲਪਨਾ ਚਾਵਲਾ) (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003), was an Indian-American scientist and a NASA astronaut. She was one of seven crewmembers killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Chawla was born in a Punjabi family in Karnal, Haryana, India. She was born in Model Town Karnal. Kalpana in Sanskrit means "imagination". Her interest in flying was inspired by J. R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot...
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Kalpana Chawla (Hindi: कल्पना चावला; Punjabi: ਕਲਪਨਾ ਚਾਵਲਾ) (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003), was an Indian-American scientist and a NASA astronaut. She was one of seven crewmembers killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Chawla was born in a Punjabi family in Karnal, Haryana, India. She was born in Model Town Karnal. Kalpana in Sanskrit means "imagination". Her interest in flying was inspired by J. R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot and industrialist.. There are a total of four children in the Chawla household including Kalpana. They are (eldest first) Sunita Chawla, girl, Deepa Chawla, girl, Sanjay Chawla, boy, and Kalpana herself. Being the youngest, the family members gave her the nickname “Montu”. She and her brother Sanjay shared the dream to fly.
She met and married Jean-Pierre Harrison, a flying instructor and aviation writer, in 1983 and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1990.
Chawla completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Public School, Karnal. She...
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