Posted on 02/01/2003 10:49:44 AM PST by Gamecock
Kalpana Chawla's space dream did India proud
NDTV Correspondent
Saturday, February 1, 2003 (Washington, New Delhi):
Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia space shuttle mishap along with six others, had done India proud when she embarked on her first space mission on November 19, 1997.
The Karnal-born Chawla, the first Indian American astronaut, began her career at the Ames Research Center at NASA in 1988.
A graduate in aeronautical engineering from the Punjab Engineering College she began work at the Ames in the area of fluid dynamics.
Following her successful tenure at the Ames, Chawla in 1993 joined the Overset Methods Inc in California as vice president and a research scientist in charge of simulating various body functions for future space missions.
NASA selected Chawla as an astronaut candidate in 1994 and she joined the 15th group of astronauts in March 1995.
After a year of training and evaluation, Chawla was assigned as a crew representative to work on technical issues for NASA's Astronaut Office Extra Vehicular Activities, Robotics, dealing in space walks
.
She was instrumental in the testing space control software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory.
Chawla's received recognition here and was assigned as mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator on the STS-87 and was involved in the manual capture of an orbiting satellite.
Pall of gloom
Chawla's relatives in New Delhi including her brother went into a state of shock after the hearing news.
"We are not in a position to say anything. We are too shocked," one of the relatives said when asked about her brother Sanjay Chawla's whereabouts.
Sanjay had gone to Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to witness the launch in what was perhaps his last meeting with his sibling.
Irreparable loss
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Murli Manohar Joshi has expressed deep shock at the crash of the Columbia.
"I am deeply shocked at the tragedy both as a physicist and the Minister for Science and Technology. This is very unfortunate that an otherwise successful mission met with an accident just a few minutes before landing," Dr Joshi said.
Describing Chawla as a worthy daughter of India, he said, "For India it is an irreparable loss. I share the grief with every fellow countryman".
The Minister also said there was a need for thorough investigation so that such accidents do not occur in the future.
Tragic incident
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Kasturirangan has described the incident as tragic.
"It is a tragic development for the entire space community as well as the country,'' Kasturirangan told NDTV.
''Though I did not know Kalpana Chawla personally, I consider her achievement, as being the first Indian woman to enter space on board the Space shuttle Columbia, as a big achievement for India.'' he said.
Class act - most people these days aren't big enough to admit such a thing. Don't let it bother you - everyone's speculating about everything right now, including who these people on the crew were. It's going to be a while before we have anything more than just speculation.
An aeronautic disaster occurs, and you're angry that newsmen mentioned that one of the crew members had a history of screwing up? Don't let the facts get in the way of your feelings.
"Remember the Maine!"
True. But the fact of the matter is, it does provide for great diplomacy. I frequently have foriegn officers in the military courses I run. They are truly in awe of what America is, once they are here and get to know us. Most often they are the best and the brightest, and are the future leaders in their militaries. It's best that they have positive experiences and form their opinions here, than have them shaped by the propoganda that they are all to often fed.
Former astronaut Richard Haucke was on NBC this afternoon, and one of the things he pointed out was that NASA made every attempt to get well-rounded people into the space program. It made life easier if someone (a non-military crew member) who was a research scientist in a particular area could also operate some of the spacecraft's equipment if needed.
The Minister also said there was a need for thorough investigation so that such accidents do not occur in the future.
Accidents happen. Space travel is inherently dangerous. Indians will continue to participate in the space program as astronauts with full knowledge of the danger. Besides, Indians have the advantage of being reborn immediately, so they shouldn't worry so much.
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