KALPANA CHAWLA

Early life
Kalpana Chawla was born in a Punjabi family at Karnal, Haryana in 1961 to Banarasi Lal
Chawla and Sanjyothi. She was born in Model Town Karnal. Her interest in flying was
inspired by J. R. D. Tata, a pioneering Indian pilot and industrialist. Kalpana has two
sisters (Sunita & Deepa) and a brother (Sanjay). Being the youngest the family members
gave her the nickname "Montu". She met and married Jean-Pierre Harrison, a flying
instructor and aviation writer, in 1983 and became a naturalized United States citizen in
1990

Education
Chawla completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Public School, Karnal. She earned her
B.E. degree in aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh
in 1982. She moved to the United States in 1982 and obtained a M.S. degree in aerospace
engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (1984). Chawla went on to earn a
second M.S. degree in 1986 and a Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering in 1988 from
the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Later that year she began working for NASA Ames Research Center as vice president of
Overset Methods, Inc. where she did CFD research on Vertical/Short Takeoff and
Landing. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for airplanes, gliders and
Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multiengine airplanes, seaplanes and gliders.
She held an FCC issued Technician Class Amateur Radio license with the call sign
NASA career
Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first
flight in 1998.

Her first space mission began on November 19, 1997 as part of the six astronaut crew
that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian-born
woman and the second person of Indian origin to fly in space, following cosmonaut
Rakesh Sharma who flew in 1984 in a Soviet spacecraft. On her first mission Chawla
travelled over 10.4 million miles in 252 orbits of the earth, logging more than 360 hours
in space. During STS-87, she was responsible for deploying the Spartan Satellite which
malfunctioned, necessitating a spacewalk by Winston Scott and Takao Doi to capture the
satellite. A five-month NASA investigation fully exonerated Chawla by identifying errors
in software interfaces and the defined procedures of flight crew and ground control.

After the completion of STS-87 post-flight activities, Kalpana was assigned to technical
positions in the astronaut office, her performance in which was recognized with a special
award from her peers.

In 2000 she was selected for her second flight as part of the crew of STS-107. This
mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems such
as the July 2002 discovery of cracks in the shuttle engine flow liners. On January 16,
2003, Chawla finally returned to space aboard Columbia on the ill-fated STS-107
mission. Chawla's responsibilities included the microgravity experiments, for which the
crew conducted nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science, advanced
technology development, and astronaut health and safety.

Chawla's last visit to India was during the 1991–1992 New Year holiday when she and
her husband spent time with her family.

Death
Kalpana died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which occurred on February 1,
2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the
Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was
scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.

Awards
Posthumously awarded:
 • CONGRESSIONAL SPACE MEDAL OF HONOR

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor

was authorized by the United States Congress
in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in
the performance of his duties has
distinguished himself by exceptionally
meritorious efforts and contributions to the
welfare of the Nation and mankind." The
highest award given in NASA, it is awarded by
the President of the United States in
Congress's name on recommendations from
the NASA Administrator. The award is a
separate decoration from the Medal of Honor,
which is a military award for extreme bravery
and gallantry in combat.

• NASA SPACE FLIGHT MEDAL

The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of

the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. According to its statutes, it is
awarded "for significant achievement or service
during individual participation as a civilian or
military astronaut, pilot, mission specialist,
payload specialist, or other space flight
participant in a space flight mission." In practice
the medal is bestowed upon any astronaut (US or
foreign) who flies aboard a United States space
mission, and typically every subsequent orbital
flight is honoured with an additional award.
 • NASA DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL

The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award which may
be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the
United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal
government, including both military astronauts and civilian employees.

The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to those who display

distinguished service, ability, or courage, and have personally made a
contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. The
contribution must be so extraordinary that other forms of recognition
would be inadequate.

Typical presentations of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal included

awards to senior NASA administrators, mission control leaders, and
astronauts who have completed numerous successful space flights. Due to
the prestige of the award, the decoration is authorized for wear on active
uniforms of the United States military. Another such authorized decoration
is the NASA Space Flight Medal.

Seven astronauts died:

TRAGEDY OF SPACE SHUTTLE
COLUMBIA
The U.S. space shuttle Columbia broke up 203,000 feet over north central
Texas about 9 a.m. EST on Feb. 1, 2003, as it descended from orbit into the
atmosphere toward a landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seven
astronauts aboard the shuttle were lost in the disaster.

Residents in southwestern and southcentral states — from California through

Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana — reported seeing and feeling an
explosion. Columbia, the oldest shuttle in the fleet of four, was to have landed
at 9:16 a.m. EST at Kennedy Space Center.

Television broadcast video of the shuttle streaking at 12,500 miles per hour
across the sky 40 miles above Dallas showed multiple vapor trails as the
spacecraft appeared to break apart. Thousands of small pieces of debris were
strewn across a wide area from eastern Texas into Louisiana. Nacogdoches,
Texas, police found pieces of debris inside the city limits and in the
surrounding county.

The crew. Aboard the shuttle during the 16-day flight had been commander
Rick D. Husband, 45; pilot William C. McCool, 40; payload commander
Michael P. Anderson, 42; mission specialists David M. Brown, 46; Kalpana
Chawla 41; and Laurel Clark, 41; and Israel's first astronaut, payload specialist
Ilan Ramon, 47. Ramon had been a national hero in Israel for taking part in the
1981 bombing of a nuclear reactor in Iraq.

David Brown, Laurel Clark, William McCool and Ilan Ramon were on their
first spaceflight. Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla and Rick Husband were
making their second flights.

What NASA said at the time. NASA Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain
declared a contingency for the shuttle Columbia at around 9:14 a.m. EST as
the shuttle and its seven astronauts were headed toward a landing at the
Kennedy Space Center. Columbia fired its braking rockets at 8:16 a.m. EST
and entered the Earth's atmosphere with all of its systems functioning normally
for a landing at the Florida spaceport at 9:16 a.m. Communications were lost
with Columbia around 9 a.m. EST as the orbiter streaked over Texas. NASA
began to use all of its tracking facilities to look for Columbia, when
communications had not restored by the time the shuttle had been scheduled to
land. Contingency procedures were in effect as landing support officials were
dispatched east of the Dallas-Forth Worth area to search for debris.

NASA warned residents under the shuttle's footprint, "If you find debris, please
do not touch it, and if you have photos or videos that you think will be helpful,
please contact your local police authorities."

Three months later, NASA reported on April 26 that some 70,000 pieces of
Columbia had been collected from the ground. That amounted to about about
40 percent of the weight of the shuttle. The pieces were shipped to Kennedy
Space Center in Florida for use by accident investigators.

Six monnths after the accident, on August 26, the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board released its findings.
 Science Not All Lost.

The STS-107 mission was NASA's most scientifically

ambitious spaceflight in years. Columbia carried more
than 80 experiments — so many that the astronauts had
to form two 12-hour shifts so they could carry on their
experimentation around the clock.

Most of the research focused on saving lives on Earth.

The central element of the STS-
107 mission patch is the
For instance, they studied the growth of prostate cancer
microgravity symbol, µg, flowing
into the rays of the astronaut
tissue in hopes of finding a treatment.
symbol [click to enlarge]

Another experiment on combustion created the weakest flame ever lit in a

laboratory — about 1/200th the flame of a match. The astronauts found that
weaker flames create less soot. That's important because soot accounts for
about 60,000 premature deaths in the United States.

Much of the science data gathered during Columbia's 16 days in orbit was lost
with the shuttle. However, NASA has been able to harvest some of the results
of the experiments conducted by the astronauts because they beamed their data
down by radio while still in space. Other experiments and results were
recovered amidst the debris on the ground.

Worms found alive. Surprisingly, hundreds of worms from one of the science
experiments were found alive amidst the debris in Texas. The worms were the
only live experiments found and identified from Columbia's 60 scientific
investigations. Some dead moss cells were found with the worms.

The worms, known as C. elegans, and the dead moss cells had been in a nine-
pound locker on the shuttle mid-deck. Six canisters, each with eight petri
dishes, contained the worms. Seven of eight aluminum canisters containing the
moss were recovered.

About the size of a pencil point, the worms have a life cycle of 7-10 days.
Those found were four to five generations removed from the original worms
sent to space in Columbia to test a synthetic nutrient solution.

C. elegans worms are primitive organisms that share numerous biological

characteristics with humans. C. elegans worms have two sexes — males and
hermaphrodites. The hermaphrodites are females that produce sperm. The
hermaphrodites fertilize themselves for their first 300 eggs, but then accept
sperm from male worms. That allows the species to produce more offspring. In
1999, C. elegans had become the first multicellular organism to have its
genome completely the sequenced.

Moss preserved. The type of moss flown on Columbia is known as Ceratodon.

It was used to study how gravity affects cell organization. The moss was
sprayed during the flight with a chemical that destroyed its protein fiber. Then
formaldehyde was used to preserve the dead moss.

Others recovered. A 6.5-inch wide, 11-inch long aluminum device found in

the shuttle debris in Nacogdoches, Texas, may yield science experiment data.

Other experiments and results recovered amidst the debris were:

• a "tin crystal" experiment sent aloft by Florida middle school students

who raised $5,000 with a spaghetti dinner and donated pennies to pay for
their space aboard the shuttle,

• a biofilm "peace experiment" by an Israeli medical student and a

Palestinian biology student who wanted to know if organisms could
travel between planets on meteorites,

• a protein crystal experiment for developing a drug to fight cancer,

• a prep school study of the effect of zero-gravity on bacteria,

• a Southwest Texas State University experiment on slime mold.

The shuttle also carried experiments composed by children as young as 12 from

Australia, China, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein and the U.S. Also aboard were
roses and other plants, and small animals, including silkworms, spiders,
carpenter bees, harvester ants and Japanese killfish.

The Oldest Shuttle.

Columbia was the oldest shuttle in the NASA fleet. It first was launched in
1981. The fatal flight was its 28th mission.

Columbia had been taken out of service to receive 50 modifications in 1991-

1992. It was refurbished again in 1994-1995. Then Columbia received 100
more modifications during an extensive 17-month overhaul from September
1999 to February 2001. It returned to space in March 2002.

After a flawless and uneventful countdown on Jan. 16, 2003, the shuttle had
been launched at 10:39 a.m. EST upward through a cloud-washed blue sky
above Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. It was the first U.S. shuttle
mission of 2003 and the 113th flight overall in NASA's space shuttle program.

Columbia flew a 16-day research mission during which astronauts used a major
package of science experiments known as Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling
Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) in the
SPACEHAB (SHI Research Double Module or SHI/RDM). Experiments in the
module ranged from material sciences to life sciences.

Columbia's Flight
History
flight mission launch
order number date flight mission launch
04/12/8 order number date
01 STS-1
1 10/18/9
15 STS-58
11/12/8 3
02 STS-2
1 03/04/9
16 STS-62
03/22/8 4
03 STS-3
2 07/08/9
17 STS-65
06/27/8 4
04 STS-4
2 10/20/9
18 STS-73
11/11/8 5
05 STS-5
2 02/22/9
19 STS-75
11/28/8 6
06 STS-9
3 06/20/9
20 STS-78
01/12/8 6
07 STS-61C
6 11/19/9
21 STS-80
08/08/8 6
08 STS-28
9 04/04/9
22 STS-83
01/09/9 7
09 STS-32
0 07/01/9
23 STS-94
12/02/9 7
10 STS-35
0
 06/05/9 11/19/9
11 STS-40 24 STS-87
1 7
06/25/9 04/13/9
12 STS-50 25 STS-90
2 8
10/22/9 07/23/9
13 STS-52 26 STS-93
2 9
04/26/9 03/01/0
14 STS-55 27 STS-109
3 2
01/16/0
28 STS-107
3
source: NASA

Columbia, the name. Columbia is a name honoring the famous explorer

Christopher Columbus. The name frequently is used as the feminine
personification of the United States.

The space shuttle Columbia was named after an 18th century sloop Columbia
that sailed out of Boston, Massachusetts, captained by American pilot Robert
Gray. On May 11, 1792, Captain Gray and his crew maneuvered the ship
through tight inland waters past a dangerous sandbar at the mouth of a river
extending a thousand miles through what today is southeastern British
Columbia, Canada, and the Washington-Oregon border region. The crew
explored British Columbia and what we now call the states of Washington and
Oregon. Later, that major river would be named Columbia after the sloop.

NASA referred to the shuttle Columbia as OV-102 for Orbiter Vehicle-102.

The orbiter weighed 178,000 lbs. including its main engines.

The astronauts:
Rick D. Husband
Commander
The U.S. Air Force colonel and
mechanical engineer, 45, was
returning from his second space
trip. He had piloted a shuttle in
1999 to the first docking with the
International Space Station.
David M. Brown
MissionSpecialist
The U.S. Navy captain, aviator and
flight surgeon, 46, was returning
from his first space flight. He had
been working on biological science
experiments.
Ilan Ramon
Payload Specialist
Israel's First Astronaut
The colonel and Israeli Air Force
fighter pilot, 47, was the first Israeli
to fly in space. He had seen combat
experience in the Yom Kippur War
in 1973 and the Lebanon War in
1982.
William C. McCool
Pilot
The U.S. Navy commander, 40,
and former test pilot was returning
from his first space trip. He had
been responsible for maneuvering
the shuttle during science
experiments.
Kalpana Chawla
Mission Specialist
Returning from her second space
flight, Chawla, 41, had flown more
than 375 hours in space. She had
operated the shuttles robotic arm
on a flight in 1997.
Michael P. Anderson
Payload Commander
The U.S. Air Force lieutenant
colonel and physicist, 42, also had
flown to space in a 1998 shuttle
flight that docked with the Russian
space station Mir. On STS-107, he
had been responsible for science.
Laurel Clark
Mission Specialist
The U.S. Navy commander and
flight surgeon, 41, was returning
from her first space flight during
which she had conducted biological
experiments.