The tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia killed seven astronauts. One
of those, Kalpana Chawla, was the first Indian-born woman in space.
Born in Karnal, India, on July 1, 1961, Chawla was the youngest of four
children. The name Kalpana means "idea" or "imagination." Her full name is
pronounced CULL-puh-na CHAV-la, though she often went by the nickname K.C.
Chawla obtained a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab
Engineering College before immigrating to the United States and becoming a
naturalized citizen in the 1980s. She earned a doctorate in aerospace
engineering from the University of Colorado in 1988, having previously obtained
her masters degree from the University of Texas. She began working at NASA's
Ames Research Center the same year, working on power-lift computational fluid
dynamics.
In 1994, Chawla was selected as an astronaut candidate. After a year of
training, she became a crew representative for the Astronaut Office
EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches, where she worked with Robotic
Situational Awareness Displays and tested software for the space shuttles.
PLAY SOUND
Chawla's first opportunity to fly in space came in November 1997, aboard
the space shuttle Columbia on flight STS-87. The shuttle made 252 orbits of theEarth in just over two weeks. The shuttle carried a number of experiments and
observing tools on its trip, including a Spartan satellite, which Chawla deployed
from the shuttle. The satellite, which studied the outer layer of the sun,
malfunctioned due to software errors, and two other astronauts from the shuttle
had to perform a spacewalk to recapture it.
Disaster strikes
In 2000, Chawla was selected for her second voyage into space, serving
again as a mission specialist on STS-107. The mission was delayed several times,
and finally launched in 2003. Over the course of the 16-day flight, the crew
completed more than 80 experiments.
On the morning of Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle returned to Earth,
intending to land at Kennedy Space Centre. At launch, a briefcase-sized piece
of insulation had broken off and damaged the thermal protection system of the
shuttle's wing, the shield that protects it from heat during re-entry. As the
shuttle passed through the atmosphere, hot gas streaming into the wing caused
it to break up. The unstable craft rolled and bucked, pitching the astronauts
about. Less than a minute passed before the ship depressurized, killing the crew.
The shuttle broke up over Texas and Louisiana before plunging into the ground.
The accident was the second major disaster for the space shuttle program,
following the 1986 explosion of the shuttle Challenger.
The entire crew of seven was killed. In addition to Chawla, the crew
included:
Commander Rick D. Husband
Pilot William C. McCool
Payload Commander Michael P. Anderson
Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut
Mission Specialists David M. Brown and Laurel B. Clark
Over the course of her two missions, Chawla logged 30 days, 14 hours, and 54
minutes in space. After her first launch, she said, "When you look at the stars
and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land,
but from the solar system."
Chawla's legacy
The events of Columbia have been officially investigated and reported on
to understand what happened and how to prevent the tragedy from re-occurring
in future spaceflights. Examples include the Columbia Accident Investigation
Board (2003) NASA's Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report (released in
2008).Several documentaries have been produced about the Columbia crew.
Some examples include "Astronaut Diaries: Remembering the Columbia Shuttle
Crew" (2005), and one that focused on Ilan Ramon, called "Space Shuttle
Columbia: Mission of Hope" (2013).
The University of Texas dedicated a Kalpana Chawla memorial at the
Arlington College of Engineering in 2010. At the time of its opening, the display
included a flight suit, photographs, information about Chawla's life, and a flag
that was flown over the Johnson Space Center during a memorial for the
Columbia astronauts.
There have been several rumors about films in production concerning
Chawla's life, including a rumour in 2017 that had the actress Priyanka Chopra
(known for Baywatch and Quantico, as well as Bollywood films) attached to it.
But in a Quora discussion in 2017, Chawla's husband — Jean-Pierre Harrison —
said: "Until I issue a public statement confirming my participation in such a
project, take it for granted that I have not signed any agreement nor licensed
any rights necessary to produce such a movie."
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howell, Space.com contributor
1) Write a summary of the above passage in about 50 to 60 words.
Answers
Answer:The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal incident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was the second fatal accident in the Space Shuttle program, after the 1986 breakup of Challenger soon after liftoff.
During the launch of STS-107, Columbia's 28th mission, a piece of foam insulation broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the left wing of the orbiter. Similar foam shedding had occurred during previous shuttle launches, causing damage that ranged from minor to nearly catastrophic,[1][2] but some engineers suspected that the damage to Columbia was more serious. Before reentry, NASA managers had limited the investigation, reasoning that the crew could not have fixed the problem if it had been confirmed.[3] When Columbia reentered the atmosphere of Earth, the damage allowed hot atmospheric gases to penetrate the heat shield and destroy the internal wing structure, which caused the spacecraft to become unstable and break apart.[4]
After the disaster, Space Shuttle flight operations were suspended for more than two years, as they had been after the Challenger disaster. Construction of the International Space Station (ISS) was put on hold; the station relied entirely on the Russian Roscosmos State Space Corporation for resupply for 29 months until Shuttle flights resumed with STS-114 and for crew rotation for 41 months until STS-121.
Explanation:1, 2003, space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing the seven astronauts on board. ... An investigation board determined that a large piece of foam fell from the shuttle's external tank and breached the spacecraft wing.
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