An essay on Kalpana Chawla in 150 - 200 words
Answers
Explanation:
This essay is part of the #IndianWomenInHistory campaign for Women’s History Month to remember the untold legacies of women who shaped India, especially India’s various feminist movements. Each day one Indian woman is profiled for the whole of March 2017.
14 years have passed since the unexpected death of Kalpana Chawla shook the nation and the world. Yet, the memory of the icon that she was is still fresh in our minds. Being the first professional Indian astronaut in space, she became a household name in India when she embarked on a much anticipated journey to space aboard the Columbia in 2003, with six other crew members. The Columbia met with a tragic accident on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere merely 16 minutes away from home.
I was only 7 when this happened, but I remember my entire family watching the landing on live television and I can still recall the shock and the grief that followed everyone around for days.
”The path from dreams to reality does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get onto it and perseverance to follow it.” I have come across this quote by Kalpana Chawla on various motivational posters numerous times and always dismissed it as unreliable internet mumbo jumbo. This was until I read up on her life to discover what an icon she was and the kind of odds she had to fight to simply do what she wanted to do. The path she took and the achievements that followed were by no means conventional or easy, especially for someone with her background. It is her remarkable courage and ambition that got her there and in the process inspired an entire generation to do the same. In this article, we take a look at the life and times of this trailblazer, whose story can still work its magic by inspiring people to pursue their dreams, no matter what the circumstances are.
Explanation:
Kalpana was the First spacewoman of India. It was the dream that many Indians dreamt of but only Kalpana was able to fulfill it. She had various ambitions in minds from her childhood only. Moreover, she always had an interest in aircraft, and because of that, she took aeronautical engineering.
Furthermore, Kalpana was a woman of great patience and hard work. And she proved that nothing is impossible if you have true dedication for your work. According to her teachers, Kalpna always had a great interest in Science.
Also, she had the ambition to go into space. So from the beginning only she was aiming to become an astronaut. In spite of knowing that it is a really difficult field. Therefore her father always encouraged her to go for higher studies.
Life Story of Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana was born in Karnal which is a small town in Haryana. Furthermore, she went to a local school to complete her primary studies. Kalpana was always a diligent student. Moreover, she was good in her academics. After completing her schooling Kalpana went to college for graduation. She took admission in Punjab University. She took admission in Aeronautical engineering.
Most Noteworthy is that she was the only girl student in the entire batch. This signifies that she always took a different path from others and was a leader. Furthermore, after completing her graduation she went abroad for further studies.
She took admission at Texas University in America. And completed her post-graduation from there. To get a doctorate degree she joined Colorado University. After getting the doctorate degree she began her career in NASA’s Ames Research Centre.
After completing her real career started. In 1994 she became a space passenger in NASA. Further one year later she became a member of space zone too. Kalpana always had a dream of landing on the moon. And as a result of her hard work and dedication, she reached such heights.
Kalpana’s first space mission was on November 19, 1994. She was a part of 6 member crew on space shuttle Columbia Flight STS-87. Furthermore, she lived for around 375 hours and traveled over 6.5 million miles in space. But when she was returning to Earth the space shuttle disintegrated. Thus the lives of all the 7 crew members ended which Kalpana a part was of. Therefore her career ended sooner than expected.