Kalpana Chawla

Kalpana Chawla (1962-2003) was an American astronaut and engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. She flew on two flights aboard Space Shuttle Columbia as a mission specialist for NASA, and was among the seven crew members who perished during Columbia’s re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in 2003. She was posthumously issued the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and had several institutions named in her memory. The National Geographic documentary series Mega Icons dedicated an episode to her in 2020.
==References==
* A photo of Chawla features among a number of inspirational women on Doctor Doc's Shero Wall in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.
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Category:Celebrity References
Category:Space