She was the first Indian-American woman to fly into space. Born in Karnal, India, she graduated from the Tagore School in Karnal in 1976, and did a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College in 1982. She moved to the US, picked up an MS in Aeronautical Engineering in 1984 from the University of Texas, and then a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1988. She has always loved flying, and holds Certificated Flight Instructor's license and Commercial Pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine land airplanes and single-engine seaplanes, instrument rating, and Private Glider. She enjoys flying aerobatics and tail-wheel airplanes. Also useful was her exposure to a wide variety of computer systems at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. She is a naturalized US citizen, and is married to Jean-Pierre Harrison, a freelance flying instructor.
STS-87 Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., is assisted with her ascent and re-entry flight suit in the white room at Launch Pad 39B by Danny Wyatt, NASA quality assurance specialist. Kneeing before Dr. Chawla to assist her is George Schram, USA mechanical technician, as Dr. Chawla prepares to enter the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia on launch day. STS-87 is the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload and Spartan-201. (Photo Release Date: 11/19/97 , NASA )
- Newsclips & Links
- BBC
News: Indian woman in orbit. Daniel Lak reports from Delhi.
20 Nov, 1997.
- Space Woman, a cover story about Chawla from The Week, India. 9 Nov 1997.
- Ame s Scientist begins astronaut training. From NASnews, March 1995.
- Back from the stars, rembering roots
- Blazing Trails Chawla has always marched to the beat of her own drummer. Little India, Dec 97.
- Space Woman, a cover story about Chawla from The Week, India. 9 Nov 1997.