She Would Have Been 54 Today, Here Are 7 Things You Need To Know About Kalpana Chawla, First Indian Woman In Space

It was 13 tragic years ago, that NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas wth it's 7 member crew while re-entering the earth's atmosphere. Among those who died was India's pride Kalpana Chawla who is still considered a shining beacon of hope for all Indian girls.

If destiny would not have snatched away her from us with such cruel hands, today Kalpana would have been celebrating her 54th birth anniversary.

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As we remember her and her contributions to the world in large, here are some facts about the amazing Kalpana:

1. She was originally named Monto

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Though we are sure that she would have done great even if she had used her given name of Monto, it's only right that she chose 'Kalpana' as a name for herself; which meant imagination. She kept using Monto as her nickname.

2. She proved that extra-curricular activities make us awesome

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Though Kalpana was not a perennial topper, she was always among the top five students in her class in academics. But she liked poetry, dancing, cycling and running and was invariably first in all the races.

3. She held many positions in NASA even before becoming an astronaut

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She first moved to US in 1982 after completing engineering in India. There she studied aerospace engineering and joined NASA later. She served in various roles including as the Vice President of Overset Methods, Inc at NASA Research Centre.

4. Her love for flying led to her career in Space

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Kalpana was a certified commercial pilot with license to fly seaplanes and multi-engine air-planes. She also became a certificated Flight instructor and married an American aviation author Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1983.

5. She became a US citizen and got a PhD before trying to reach space

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Only after becoming a US citizen in 1991, did she apply for and became a member of NASA Astronaut Corps. Six years later, she took her first flight into space.

6. After her untimely demise, many honours were bestowed upon her

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She has an asteroid and a satellite named after her. A hill in the Columbia Hills on Mars is named after her as Chawla Hill. This is apart from the dorm rooms, hallways, medals and scholarships named after her at all colleges and universities where she studied during her years as a student. She was also awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, NASA Space Flight Medal and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal posthumously.

7. She is the first and only Indian woman to go to space

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Sunita Williams who is the second women of Indian decent to go to space is not Indian. Kalpana was the 33rd woman to go to space. She spent more that 31 days in space on her two missions and it was during the end phase of her second mission that she met her demise. She will forever be an icon for Indians.

In the time and age when Kalpana was born, she could easily been lost amidst numerous other Mantos in the region. It was only her determination and passion to pursue her dreams that made her the Kalpana we love, adore and respect.

Salute!

We leave you with her words, shortly after her first launch

¡°When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system.¡±