Kalpana Chawla, born in Karnal, Haryana, was an Indian-American astronaut. She became the first Indian woman in space aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1997.
She was part of a six-member crew as a mission specialist and primary robot arm operator.
She was later selected for a second mission in 2000 as part of a seven-member crew, which delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problem and finally the mission was scheduled for on January 2003.
Chawla died during the shuttle's re-entry into atmosphere due to a faulty heat shield and all the mission crew perished in the mishap. The shuttle disintegrated over Texas.
