First February day marks the death anniversary of Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian-origin to fly to space. She was one of the seven astronauts who died on board Space Shuttle Columbia after it disintegrated during its re-entry in the Earth's atmosphere. 

Kalpana Chawla who was born in Karnal, Haryana in 1962 moved to the United States at the age of 20 and obtained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering two years later. On Kalpana Chawla's 18th death anniversary, let us look at some lesser-known facts about her. From a young age, Kalpana was fascinated by planes. She attended Punjab Engineering College from where she attained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

Kalpana got her Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from University of Texas. She was also a PhD in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado Boulder. Her excellent academic history and extremely sharp mind got her into NASA in 1988.

I n 1993, she became the Vice President of Overset Methods Inc. She also served as a Research Scientist in Overset Methods simultaneously. Kalpana Chawla was a certified Flight Instructor. She joined NASA Astronaut Corps in 1995.

Kalpana Chawla made the whole nation proud when she became the first woman of Indian origin to fly in space in November 1997. She was a part of the six member crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. During the mission, she was the person responsible for deploying Spartan Satellite.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also dedicated one of it's supercomputer to Kalpana Chawla. Numerous scholarship programs and science wings of various institutions around the world have been named after her. Kalpana Chawla proved that through hard work and dedication, one can accomplish absolutely anything.

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