Fifteen years ago, on the forenoon of February 1, the world lost 7 shimmering stars. India has lost its first Indian-born lady in space. The unfortunate loss of the space shuttle Columbia that killed seven astronauts, including Kalpana Chawla of India.

When the space shuttle was on its way home, expecting to land at Kennedy Space Centre, it exploded when entered the Earth's atmosphere. 

Born in Karnal, India, March 17, 1962, Kalpana was the youngest of four children. She was the second Indian person to fly in space after astronaut Rakesh Sharma. 

With an aim to join NASA, Chawla moved to the US in 1982. She went on to obtain a PG in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984 and got her second PG in 1986. Not stopping there, she went on to receive a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In 1988, she took another step nearer to her goal, joined NASA, and in 1997 she went on her first space flight.

Over the course of her two missions, Chawla logged 30 days, 14 hours, and 54 minutes in space.

In her honour, India renamed its first satellite of Met-Sat series, 'MetSat-1' to 'Kalpana-1'.

Her resolution and courage have been an inspiration to little girls, and strong women across the world.