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Kalpana Chawla, an aerospace engineer, has become the
first Indo-American woman to venture into space. It is a
notable achievement for a lady from a male-dominated
India. Kalpana, who is a naturalized US citizen, was
born in Karnal, India. Indeed she has made a statement
for all Indian women and made them proud. When she
chose to do aeronautical engineering at Punjab
University, in India, the principal told her that it was
not suitable for women and advised her to opt for
something more suitable. A brilliant A-level student,
Kalpana insisted on aeronautical engineering or nothing.
She believed in 'doing something that you like'. Her
family was also shocked with her choice of going to
Punjab University which is in faraway Chandigrah.
Parents, relatives and friends all tried to dissuade
her. Her determination saw her through. At last, her
parents relented but her mother insisted on following
her. Things went smoothly and she completed her course.
Then she dropped another bombshell. She wanted to go to
the States to further her studies.
"How can you send your unmarried daughter abroad all
alone," demanded a family friend. Someone suggested an
arranged marriage to someone in the US. Kalpana would
have none of it. She credits her family for their
support. "They are conservative but very different from
others. There wasn't any `no, absolutely not'. You could
always say, 'but I want to do it.' If you said it enough
times, you would have it. In families that are truly
conservative, you don't even dare ask." She arrived in
the US in 1982 to study at the University of Texas,
graduating in 1984. She went on to get her Ph D in
Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado in
1988. In between her studies, she qualified for a
pilot's license in 1987. She then began to think
seriously about applying to the space shuttle program.
She was among six civilian finalists who were
selected by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) after several rounds of interviews
and rigorous physical and medical evaluations at the
Johnson Space Centre. NASA had selected a total of six
civilians and thirteen military officers from a pool of
almost 3000 aspiring applicants. When they informed her
in December 1994 that she had been selected, she was
already a vice-president and research scientist at
Overset Methods Incorporated.
She began her special training on March 6, at the
Johnson Space Centre in Houston. The first year of
training introduces candidates to all NASA centers,
instructs them in land and sea survival, and prepares
them for operating aircraft. After successful completion
of training, the 'candidates' become 'astronauts' and
are assigned specific jobs and duties within the NASA
Astronaut Office to further prepare them as shuttle crew
members.
On 19 Nov 1997, Kalpana at 35 became India's first
woman astronaut on the space shuttle, Columbia which
headed for space. She was the only woman in the
six-member crew. As a mission specialist, she is
responsible for planning crew activity, monitoring
consumable shuttle items and conducting experiments. She
has this to say to women reading about her
determined journey into
space. "That's the message I want to give to other
women: Do something because you really want to do it.
Even if it is a goal which is not necessarily within
reach."
A typical space shuttle mission lasts 8-12 days, and
Kalpana hopes to participate in several trips over many
years. Her husband is enthusiastic about Kalpana dream.
They have relocated to Houston where he works as a
flight instructor. The rest of her family who reside in
India are proud of her and support her endeavor. |
