- The first Indian-American scientist / NASA astronaut, she was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
- Montsu is the affectionate form of Kalpana Chawla's family name, Montu; the name Kalpana, meaning "imagination" in Hindi, three-year old Montu chose for herself.
- Kalpana had two sisters, Sunita and Deepa, and a brother, Sanjay.
- She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1990.
- Chawla joined the NASA astronaut corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1998.
- On her first space mission (November 19, 1997) with the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia, Chawla traveled over 10.4 million miles in 252 orbits of the Earth, logging more than 360 hours in space.
- On her second and last Space Shuttle mission, begun January 16, 2003, Chawla's responsibilities included crucial microgravity studies, for which the crew conducted nearly 80 experiments studying Earth and Space Science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety.
- Among her many memorials, she had a peak in a mountain chain on Mars named for her, an asteroid (51826 Kalpanachawla), an Indian series of meteorological satellites, students' and colleges' awards, a NASA supercomputer, a song from the musical group Deep Purple's Steve Morse, and many more sites and activities.
- Novelist Peter (Allen) David named a shuttle, the Chawla, after her in his novel "Before Dishonor" (Star Trek: The Next Generation: New York: Pocket Books, 2007; ISBN 1416527427).
- She was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content