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| Kalpana Chawla (1961-2003) |
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| Kalpana Chawla was selected as an astronaut in NASA's fifteenth class (1995). She made two flights into space on board the space shuttle. In 1997 she was given the assignment of serving as a mission specialist for the STS-87 mission, in doing so she became the first Indian astronaut to fly in space (she was from Karnal, India). Her second mission was as the mission specialist for the ill-fated STS-107 flight. This mission was scheduled to land on February 1, 2003, but during reentry the Space Shuttle Columbia suffered a structural failure and broke up over Texas. Columbia was destroyed and Chawla, along with the rest of the STS-107 crew, was killed. During her career, she logged 31 days in space. My Collection: This is an official 8x10 litho signed by the STS-107 crew. Kalpana Chawla can be seen in the middle of the photo behind the mission insignia. Her autograph is rare and valuable because of her death during the STS-107 mission. |
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