Kalpana Chawla was an astronaut and a mission specialist. An American citizen who was born in India, she was the first woman of Indian origin to fly into space, though she represented the United States and not India during her flight. She made her first trip into space aboard the space shuttle Columbia (flight STS-87) on November 19, 1997, and was one of the crew of six.
Her second space mission was scheduled for the year 2000, but faced repetitive delays for a number of reasons. Finally, the mission was cleared and Kalpana took off with the rest of the seven-member crew on January 16, 2003, aboard the Columbia (Flight STS-107). Unfortunately, the space shuttle disintegrated on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, over Texas. The accident occurred when a piece of foam insulation broke from the main propellant tank and struck the leading edge of the left wing. This caused serious damage to the Thermal Protection System (TPS) of the shuttle. Kalpana was 41 years old when she died, on that fateful day of 19 February, 2003.
Her second space mission was scheduled for the year 2000, but faced repetitive delays for a number of reasons. Finally, the mission was cleared and Kalpana took off with the rest of the seven-member crew on January 16, 2003, aboard the Columbia (Flight STS-107). Unfortunately, the space shuttle disintegrated on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, over Texas. The accident occurred when a piece of foam insulation broke from the main propellant tank and struck the leading edge of the left wing. This caused serious damage to the Thermal Protection System (TPS) of the shuttle. Kalpana was 41 years old when she died, on that fateful day of 19 February, 2003.
