Dr. Kalpana Chawla: Profile of a Pioneer

Gayatri Srinivasan

Photo Courtesy: NASA

"Venturing into something no one else even dreamed of," was Dr Kalpana Chawla's life work. Traits such as curiosity, adventure, fun and complete belief in fond dreams are usually associated with children. Growing up, most adults lose these qualities and short change themselves going through life with an occasional long sigh. Some people retain them; they grab on and live life to the fullest. The following is one such rare and precious ride that escaped the bounds of the earth, blazed into the skies beyond and in some ways, never quite came down. This is an obituary of Dr. Kalpana Chawla - the first Indian-born woman to go into space.

Dr Kalpana Chawla was born on 01 July 1961 in Karnal, Haryana, to Shrimati Sanyogita Chawla and Shri Banarsi Lal Chawla. She was the youngest of the four children, with two older sisters and a brother. As a child, she was described as a headstrong girl and was known to have drawn airplanes in drawing competitions and made models of the universe and constellations in geography projects. This youthful fascination with space became a life long passion. Growing up, she blazed a trail no other woman had dared to venture in her town. She was the only woman in the batch of aeronautics engineering students. In 1982, she graduated from Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh. Her determination to fly took her from Chandigarh all the way to U.S.A. At the University of Texas, she completed her Masters two years later. Upon finishing her Masters, she also entered an important phase of her personal life, marriage. It was not an arranged marriage to an Indian boy handpicked by parents. Rather, she married an American, Jeane-Pierre Harrison, a freelance flying instructor whom she met while at the University of Texas.

All in all, a no mean feat for an Indian girl from a small town, especially considering the opposition from relatives and well wishers at every step. In thwarting every obstacle and objection, Kalpana showed immense dedication to her dreams, self-confidence and a can-do attitude. Her brother Sanjay also supported her despite the naysayers and the through all the challenges. Over the years, she began to think seriously of applying to the NASA's (National Aeronautics Space Administration) space shuttle program. After completing her post doctorate training in Aeronautic engineering and becoming a naturalized citizen, she sent in the application. She was accepted in 1994. This too was a tremendous achievement since NASA selects approximately 20 astronauts every two years from more than 4,000 applicants. The selection by NASA immediately catapulted her small hometown to fame all over India.

Kalpana Chawla's flight, the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-87 mission, was the eighth shuttle mission in 1997 and the 88th mission flown since the program began in 1981. On the mission, she carried a T-shirt made by the students of her high school as a fond memento. The T-shirt depicted the Indian tricolour and aircraft in the background with children looking up to Kalpana and the message "Kalpana we are proud of you." Despite the precipitous rise in her career, Kalpana was deeply connected to her roots. Every year, she arranged for two students from Tagore Bal Niketan to visit NASA headquarters in Houston. As the payload specialist, her assignment aboard the shuttle included experiments using the 3,000-pound Spartan satellite. The Spartan made headlines when it malfunctioned after release. The satellite was supposed to perform a pirouette within 90 seconds after release to demonstrate that its systems were functioning correctly. When Spartan failed to respond she attempted to recapture it using the shuttle's robot arm, an effort which inadvertently sent the satellite into a slow spin. However, three days later, two other astronauts recaptured Spartan during a spacewalk, choreographed by Kalpana Chawla. The inquiry following the mission cleared her of any error. However due to the ongoing inquiry, she was unable to attend a pre-arranged meeting in India with Rakesh Sharma, Squadron Leader of the Indian Air Force and the first Indian to go into space in 1982.

NASA selected Kalpana Chawla 6 years later, for STS-107 Columbia launched on 16 January 2003. The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. At just 41 years, she had achieved her second space flight. Amongst the 7-member crew, Kalpana Chawla had the highest number of hours-logged in space. During the mission, Kalpana along with astronaut Rick Husband, was responsible for manoeuvring Columbia as part of several experiments in the shuttle's payload bay. A part of the study was also to gather information for curing cancer and other diseases, by studying cellular behaviour in a gravity less environment. The shuttle was scheduled to land on 01 Feb 2003. Excitement was in the air as people avidly followed the shuttle's re-entry. To the utmost shock and stunned disbelief of millions of Americans, Indians and world over, the shuttle exploded over Texas just 16 minutes prior to the scheduled landing time. It was with great sadness that people of Karnal, and others all over India, bid a tearful salute for the brave woman who achieved so much in a very short time. Lacing the profound grief was the utmost pride at how far a young girl had come from a small town. On 05 Feb 2003, Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, renamed India's first meteorological satellite as 'Kalpana-1'. It was a profound testament to her astounding legacy and achievements. Kalpana's message to all women was "Do something because you really want to do it, even if it is a goal that is not necessarily within reach."