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An inspiration and idol to countless girls, Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian woman to fly in space. Born on 17 March 1962, in Karnal, Haryana. She acquired her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh in 1982. After completing her graduation in Engineering, she moved from India to the US in 1982 and made her first space trip aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997. During her first space mission, she also spoke to the then Prime Minister of India Inderjit K Gujral from the orbit. Chawla's second space trip in 2003 ended...

On this page: Bios, profiles, news stories, memorial services On Feb. 1, 2003, Indian-American Dr. Kalpana C. Chawla, 41, was one of seven astronauts killed on the Space Shuttle Columbia. This a site to help journalists cover her story. PRONUNCIATION: KULL-puh-na CHAO-la ("kull" rhymes with "hull" ... "puh" rhymes with the "puh" sound in "pundit"... "CHAO" rhymes with "ciao" or "chow") - journalists and senior government officials have been mispronouncing the name. MEANING OF HER FIRST NAME: among the meanings in Hindi - imagination, a dream, fantasy, something that is almost impossible to attaining. Ode for Kalpana By Ambassador Robert...

<p>Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla is shown during a training session in December at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.</p> <p>Flight Engineer, Mission Specialist and former South Bay resident Kalpana Chawla was a gutsy woman with a penchant for exploring, whether it was the remote corners of Earth or outerspace, said high school classmate and Santa Clara University Professor Atulya Sarin.</p>