Kalpana Chawla remembered on her 12th death anniversary on 1 February

Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-American astronaut and first Indian woman in space was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.

She first flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.

Kalpana Chawla was born on July 1, 1961, in Karnal, India. She was the first Indian-American astronaut and first Indian woman in space.

As per her academic record, Chawla  completed her aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College in and a masters degree from the University of Texas in 1980s. In 1994, Chawla was selected as an astronaut candidate

Kalpana Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the death of all seven crew members