Chawla (original) (raw)
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Chawla, Kalpana
Indian-American engineer mission specialist astronaut 1994-2003. She perished with the rest of the crew of the shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003.
Status: Deceased; Active 1994-2003. Born: 1961-07-01. Died: 2003-02-01. Spaceflights: 2 . Total time in space: 31.62 days. Birth Place: Indian.
Educated Punjab Engineering; U Texas; U Colorado.
Official NASA Biography as of June 2016: KALPANA CHAWLA (PH.D.) NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)
PERSONAL DATA: Born in Karnal, India. Died on February 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. She is survived by her husband. Kalpana Chawla enjoyed flying, hiking, back-packing, and reading. She held a Certificated Flight Instructor's license with airplane and glider ratings, Commercial Pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and Gliders, and instrument rating for airplanes. She enjoyed flying aerobatics and tail-wheel airplanes.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976. Bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.
AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
EXPERIENCE: In 1988, Kalpana Chawla started work at NASA Ames Research Center in the area of powered-lift computational fluid dynamics. Her research concentrated on simulation of complex air flows encountered around aircraft such as the Harrier in "ground-effect." Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Kalpana Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization. Results of various projects that Kalpana Chawla participated in are documented in technical conference papers and journals.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected by NASA in December 1994, Kalpana Chawla reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995 as an astronaut candidate in the 15th Group of Astronauts. After completing a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned as crew representative to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. Her assignments included work on development of Robotic Situational Awareness Displays and testing space shuttle control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory. In November, 1996, Kalpana Chawla was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on STS-87. In January 1998, she was assigned as crew representative for shuttle and station flight crew equipment, and subsequently served as lead for Astronaut Offices Crew Systems and Habitability section. She flew on STS-87 (1997) and STS-107 (2003), logging 30 days, 14 hours and 54 minutes in space.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-87 Columbia (November 19 to December 5, 1997). STS-87 was the fourth U.S Microgravity Payload flight and focused on experiments designed to study how the weightless environment of space affects various physical processes, and on observations of the Sun's outer atmospheric layers. Two members of the crew performed an EVA (spacewalk) which featured the manual capture of a Spartan satellite, in addition to testing EVA tools and procedures for future Space Station assembly. STS-87 made 252 orbits of the Earth, traveling 6.5 million miles in in 376 hours and 34 minutes.
STS-107 Columbia (January 16 to February 1, 2003). The 16-day flight was a dedicated science and research mission. Working 24 hours a day, in two alternating shifts, the crew successfully conducted approximately 80 experiments. The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing.
MAY 2004
NASA Official Biography
NAME: Kalpana Chawla (Ph.D.)
NASA Astronaut
PERSONAL DATA:
Born in Karnal, India. Date and month of birth unknown. Dr. Chawla enjoys flying, hiking, back-packing, and reading. She 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.
EDUCATION:
Graduated from Tagore School, Karnal, India, in 1976. Bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. Master of science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984. Doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, 1988.
EXPERIENCE:
Dr. Chawla was hired by MCAT Institute, San Jose, California, as a Research Scientist to support research in the area of powered lift at NASA Ames Research Center, California, in 1988. She was responsible for simulation and analysis of flow physics pertaining to the operation of powered lift aircraft such as the Harrier in ground effect. She modeled and numerically simulated configurations that include important components of realistic powered lift aircraft, both in hover and landing mode, using Navier-Stokes solvers on Cray YMP. Following completion of this project she supported research in mapping of flow solvers to parallel computers such as the Intel iPSC-860, the Intel Paragon, and the TMC CM-2, and testing of these solvers by carrying out powered lift computations. In 1993 Dr. Chawla joined Overset Methods Inc., Los Altos, California, as Vice President and Research Scientist to form a team with other researchers specializing in simulation of moving multiple body problems. She was responsible for development and implementation of efficient techniques to perform aerodynamic optimization. Results of various projects that Dr. Chawla participated in are documented in technical conference papers and Journals.
NASA EXPERIENCE:
Selected by NASA in December 1994, Dr. Chawla reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995. After completing a year of training and evaluation, she was assigned to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches. Dr. Chawla will serve as a mission specialist on the crew of the fourth U.S. Microgravity Payload flight scheduled for an November 1997 launch on board Columbia on mission STS-87.
MAY 1997
More at: Chawla.
Family: Astronaut. Country: India, USA. Flights: STS-87, STS-107. Projects: STS. Bibliography: 12, 600, 5254.
1961 July 1 - .
- Birth of Dr Kalpana Chawla - . Nation: India, USA. Related Persons: Chawla. Indian-American engineer mission specialist astronaut 1994-2003. She perished with the rest of the crew of the shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003. 2 spaceflights, 31.6 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-87 (1997), STS-107..
1995 June 9 - .
- NASA Astronaut Training Group 15 selected. - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Altman, Anderson, Ashby, Bloomfield, Chawla, Curbeam, Edwards, Joe, Gorie, Hire, Husband, Kavandi, Kilrain, Lindsey, Lu, Melroy, Noriega, Reilly, Robinson, Sturckow.
The group was selected to provide pilot, engineer, and scientist astronauts for space shuttle flights.. Qualifications: Pilots: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Advanced degree desirable. At least 1,000 flight-hours of pilot-in-command time. Flight test experience desirable. Excellent health. Vision minimum 20/50 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 vision; maximum sitting blood pressure 140/90. Height between 163 and 193 cm.
Mission Specialists: Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics and minimum three years of related experience or an advanced degree. Vision minimum 20/150 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20. Maximum sitting blood pressure of 140/90. Height between 150 and 193 cm.. 10 pilots and 9 mission specialists, 6 civilians and 13 military officers, chosen from 2,962 applicants, of which 122 screened in June-August 1994. 4 additional international astronauts.
1997 November 19 - . 19:46 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39B. Launch Platform: MLP1. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
- STS-87 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Chawla, Doi, Kadenyuk, Kregel, Lindsey, Scott, Winston. Payload: Columbia F24 / Spartan / USMP-4 Aft. Mass: 115,900 kg (255,500 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Chawla, Doi, Kadenyuk, Kregel, Lindsey, Scott, Winston. Agency: NASA Houston. Manufacturer: North American. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-87. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Duration: 15.69 days. Decay Date: 1997-12-05 . USAF Sat Cat: 25061 . COSPAR: 1997-073A. Apogee: 279 km (173 mi). Perigee: 273 km (169 mi). Inclination: 28.50 deg. Period: 90.00 min.
OV-102 Columbia was launched on a microgravity science mission. Spartan 201 was released a day late on November 21. However the satellite did not start its automatic orientation maneuver because the crew failed to send it the correct commands prior to release.
Spartan was recaptured by hand, during a spacewalk by Takao Doi and Winston Scott on November 25. Tests of space station tools went well, but the free-flying Sprint camera subsatellite was not deployed due to lack of time.
NASA decided not to redeploy Spartan on this mission. During an EVA on Dec 3, Doi and Scott carried out more tests of the Space Station crane. They also deployed the AERCam/Sprint 'football' remote-controlled camera for a free flight in the payload bay.
Columbia landed on December 5, with a deorbit burn at 11:21 GMT. Touchdown was at 12:20 GMT at Kennedy Space Center.
1997 December 5 - .
- Landing of STS-87 - . Return Crew: Chawla, Doi, Kadenyuk, Kregel, Lindsey, Scott, Winston. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Chawla, Doi, Kadenyuk, Kregel, Lindsey, Scott, Winston. Flight: STS-87. STS-87 landed at 12:20 GMT. .
2003 January 16 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #01 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center this morning on the first shuttle mission of the year, carrying the first Israeli astronaut into orbit along with six crewmates on a marathon international scientific research flight.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 16 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #02 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia's crewmembers unstowed equipment and began activation of the Spacehab Research Double Module in the shuttle's cargo bay, setting the stage for 24-hour-a-day science during the shuttle's 16-day research mission.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 16 - . 15:39 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. LV Family: Shuttle. Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle.
- STS-107 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Payload: Columbia F28 / Spacehab. Mass: 115,900 kg (255,500 lb). Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Agency: NASA. Manufacturer: Boeing. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Flight: STS-107. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Columbia. Duration: 15.94 days. Decay Date: 2003-02-01 . USAF Sat Cat: 27647 . COSPAR: 2003-003A. Apogee: 276 km (171 mi). Perigee: 263 km (163 mi). Inclination: 39.00 deg. Period: 89.90 min. The last solo shuttle earth orbit mission ended in tragedy when the shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. Launch delayed from May 23, June 27, July 11 and 19, November 29, 2002..
2003 January 17 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #03 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. In their first full day in orbit, Columbia's seven crewmembers completed activation of the SPACEHAB Research Double Module in the shuttle's cargo bay and all of its scientific experiments.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 18 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #04 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.
Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts pointed two Israeli cameras over the Atlantic and the Mediterranean today in search of small dust particles that might impact the weather and began experiments in human life sciences in the third day of the STS-107 scientific research flight. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 19 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #05 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon, Ross. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia's astronauts studied combustion properties and the response of their own bodies in weightlessness and the behavior of soot in space one-quarter of the way through their marathon scientific research mission.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 20 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #06 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon, Ross. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.
Columbia's astronauts conducted scientific studies ranging from the behavior of granular materials in weightlessness to the effects of microgravity on fungi, and filmed the sprites associated with thunderstorms across the globe as their scientific research flight continued in its fifth day. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 21 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #07 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. The seven astronauts aboard Columbia continued to conduct scientific studies 24-7 today, concentrating their efforts on combustion in weightlessness, the growth of cell cultures, and measurements of the ozone layer.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 22 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #08 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.
The seven astronauts aboard Columbia beamed down television views of their smallest companions in orbit today, including insects, spiders, fish, bees and silk worms that are part of the Space Technology and Research Students package of experiments designed and developed by students in six countries. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 23 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #09 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. The STS-107 scientific research mission aboard Columbia passed the halfway mark today as the 80 microgravity investigations continue on schedule.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 24 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #10 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the seven astronauts aboard continued to work in shifts, coordinating work with investigators on the ground.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 25 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #11 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon, Tani. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.
Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts completed an experiment studying the activity of bone cells in microgravity and began final tests with a technology demonstration designed to investigate the behavior of capillary-pumped loops in space as the 16-day international science mission completed Flight Day 10. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 26 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #12 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Scientific research continued aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the STS-107 mission headed into the homestretch with a variety of experiments in multiple disciplines.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 27 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #13 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Some experiments have run their course aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, but there is more in store as STS-107 science continues around the clock in the Spacehab Research Double Module.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 28 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #14 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.
The Red team of astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia accomplished repairs on the third and final combustion experiment of STS-107 this afternoon, and support scientists on the ground were looking forward to working with the Blue team on the first scientific runs. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 29 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #15 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia's seven astronauts took a break from their around-the-clock scientific research today to answer reporters' questions in the traditional on-orbit crew news conference.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 30 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #16 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Chawla, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia are completing their final runs on experiments in the Spacehab Research Double Module and beginning preparations for Saturday's landing.. Additional Details: here....
2003 January 31 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #17 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. Columbia crewmembers deactivated experiments and began stowing gear to prepare for their scheduled Saturday landing at the Kennedy Space Center.. Additional Details: here....
2003 February 1 - .
- Death of Kalpana Chawla. - . Related Persons: Chawla. Indian-American engineer mission specialist astronaut 1994-2003. She perished with the rest of the crew of the shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003. 2 spaceflights, 31.6 days in space. Flew to orbit on STS-87 (1997), STS-107..
2003 February 1 - .
- Loss of STS-107 - . Return Crew: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Brown, David, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Ramon. Program: STS. Flight: STS-107.
The shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry at an altitude of 63.15 km and a speed of Mach 18. All hands aboard were lost. The loss grounded the shuttle fleet pending a failure investigation and left the crew of Bowersox, Pettit and Budarin aboard the International Space Station with a Soyuz emergency return vehicle but without means of major station resupply.
2003 February 1 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #19 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6. The Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts were lost today when the vehicle broke up over north central Texas during its reentry from orbit.. Additional Details: here....
2003 February 2 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #20 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Cabana, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-107, STS-113 ISS EO-6.
Aided by federal and local agencies, NASA stepped up its inquiry into the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts. Multiple investigative teams continue to pore over engineering data in an effort to uncover the cause of the breakup of the orbiter over Texas on Saturday 16 minutes from landing. Additional Details: here....
2003 February 3 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #21 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-113 ISS EO-6. NASA engineers continued to review data and recover debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the analysis of what caused the orbiter to break up Saturday en route to landing continued.. Additional Details: here....
2003 February 4 - .
- STS-107 MCC Status Report #22 - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anderson, Bowersox, Brown, David, Budarin, Chawla, Clark, Husband, McCool, Pettit, Ramon. Program: ISS. Flight: STS-113 ISS EO-6.
As NASA paused to pay tribute to Columbia's astronauts, the agency reported making "considerable progress" in recovering debris from the Space Shuttle and analyzing data in the search for clues to what caused the orbiter to breakup 16 minutes before its landing last Saturday. Additional Details: here....
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