Kalpana Chawla was the first female astronaut of Indian birth. She was born in 1961 in Karnal in Punjab. Her parents were Banarasilal – a businessman and her mother was Sanjothi – a housewife. Her early education started at Tagore Balniketan in Karnal, Punjab. From childhood, she dreamt of flying high in the sky. She obtained her degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College. In 1984, she obtained her Master Degree from Texas University. Later she received the Doctorate Degree from the University of Colorado. She took American Citizenship and joined NASA to fulfill her dream. She made her maiden space flight in 1977 with five other astronauts successfully. Kalpana was selected for her next space flight. She with her other crew members was about to come back on the earth in the US space Shuttle Columbia. But just fifteen minutes to land, Columbia crashed over Texas on the 16th of January 2003. Thus the life of this brave girl came to an end.
