The great people are great because they make their people proud with their achievement and deeds. And that is why it is said that great people never dies, they always remain in the heart of their people. And we are in the nation where great and legendary astronaut still not forgotten. Yes I am talking about Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian American female astronaut. She was raised in the male chauvinist society with the dream of flying high in the sky. She is still an inspiration for several women for her achievement  and  contribution. Here are some interesting facts about the legendary lady.

1#  Kalpana Chawla born on March 17,1962, in Karnal, Haryana. She belong to average middle class family where boys are favored and girls expected to be quite and obedient. But she never cares for the boundations of the society and followed her dreams with the support of her mother. And flew high above the sky exactly what she wanted.

2#  She did her secondary education from at Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School, and then completed  her engineering at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh 1982. Although she was not the first rank holder in the class but she was always count among the five.

3#  In the year 1982, she targeted to work at  NASA and decided to move to USA. There she obtained the degree of masters in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in Arlington.

4#  Kalpana  name is given by her parents but she choose her own  name Monto which became her nick name.

5#  She got married to Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1983, who was a flying instructor and an aviation author.

6# She was a great scientist and astronaut but besides of that she was really found of poetry, dancing, cycling and running at sports event and was invariably first in all the races. And also she used to play badminton and dodge ball with boys after all she belongs  from the sports city of India, Haryana.

7# In order to be an astronaut she decided to have higher education. In 1986, she attained another master degree. In 1988, she completed a PhD in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder.

8#  At NASA she got the position of Vice President of Overset Method, Inc at NASA Research Center. And later she was assigned to make computational fluid dynamic (CFD) research on Verticle/Short Takeoff and Landing concept.

9#  She was certified with a commercial pilot license for the seaplanes, multi engine air place and glider. She also was a Certificated Flight Instructor for glider and airplanes. And after become US citizen in 1991 she applied for the membership of NASA  Astronaut  Corp. For her excellent services, she achieved many awards such as Congressional Space Medal of Honor NASA Space Flight Medal and NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

10# On February 1, 2003, along with 7 crew members, she died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which happened when the Space Shuttle disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.