Remembering Kalpana Chawla on her 56th birth anniversary

• Keerthi Mohan
• 17 March, 2018

By: Keerthi Mohan

Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman in space, would have turned 56 today if she were alive. Chawla died following the  fateful accident on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon its entry to the earth’s atmosphere. Chawla died along with six other astronauts. Chawla was born in Punjab and wanted to become an aerospace engineer. She was influenced by watching the planes from the local flying clubs. “Every once in a while, we’d ask my dad if we could get a ride in one of these planes. And, he did take us to the flying club and get…

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