ASTRONAUT

Kalpana Chawla

1961 - 2003

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Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space. Chawla expressed an interest in aerospace engineering from an early age and took engineering classes at Dayal Singh College and Punjab Engineering College in India. She then traveled to the United States, where she earned her MSc and PhD, becoming a naturalized United States citizen in the early 1990s. She first flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and robotic arm operator aboard STS-87. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Kalpana Chawla is the 87th most popular astronaut (down from 51st in 2019), the 337th most popular biography from India (down from 258th in 2019) and the most popular Indian Astronaut.

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Among ASTRONAUTS

Among astronauts, Kalpana Chawla ranks 87 out of 556. Before her are Dick Scobee, Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa, Vladimir Shatalov, Vladimir Aksyonov, Vyacheslav Zudov, and Leonid Popov. After her are Aleksei Gubarev, Walter Cunningham, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Vladimir Lyakhov, Stuart Roosa, and Yury Romanenko.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1961, Kalpana Chawla ranks 104. Before her are José Luis Mendilibar, Steven Weber, Joanne Whalley, Jared Harris, Aleksandr Dvornikov, and Danny Blind. After her are Ghislaine Maxwell, Sergei Aleinikov, Safra Catz, Frans Timmermans, Eric Stoltz, and Dylan McDermott. Among people deceased in 2003, Kalpana Chawla ranks 105. Before her are Guy Thys, Alan Bates, John Ritter, Massimo Girotti, Donald O'Connor, and Maurice Pialat. After her are Michel Constantin, Qusay Hussein, Daishiro Yoshimura, Vasil Bykaŭ, Fred Rogers, and Mohammed Dib.

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In India

Among people born in India, Kalpana Chawla ranks 337 out of 1,861. Before her are Tilopa (928), Saint Alphonsa (1910), Pulakeshin II (610), Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897), K. B. Hedgewar (1889), and Velu Nachiyar (1730). After her are Asima Chatterjee (1917), Liaquat Ali Khan (1895), Amrapali (-450), Sikandar Jah (1768), Lindsay Anderson (1923), and Narayana Guru (1855).

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Among ASTRONAUTS In India

Among astronauts born in India, Kalpana Chawla ranks 1. After her are Rakesh Sharma (1949).

Indian born Astronauts

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