Kalpana
Chawla

Kalpana Chawla, 41, was selected by NASA in December 1994. She logged more than 376 hours in space.

Kalpana Chawla, 41, was an aerospace engineer and an FAA Certified Flight Instructor. She served as Flight Engineer and Mission Specialist 2 for STS-107.

She received a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, in 1982, a master of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas-Arlington in 1984, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 1988.

As a member of the Red Team, Chawla, with CDR Rick Husband, was responsible for maneuvering Columbia as part of several experiments in the shuttle's payload bay. Chawla also worked with the following experiments: Astroculture (AST); Advanced Protein Crystal Facility (APCF); Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG_PCF); Biotechnology Demonstration System (BDS); ESA Biopack (eight experiments); Combustion Module (CM-2), which included the Laminar Soot Processes (LSP), Water Mist Fire Suppression (MIST) and Structures of Flame Balls at Low Lewisnumber (SOFBALL) experiments; Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM); Vapor Compression Distillation Flight Experiment (VCD FE); and the Zeolite Crystal Growth Furnace (ZCG).

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Chawla was the prime robotic arm operator on STS-87 in 1997, the fourth U.S. Microgravity Payload flight. STS-87 focused on how the weightless environment of space affects various physical processes.

Prior to STS-107, Chawla logged more than 376 hours in space.

Thanks for coming

Shuttle Columbia and Deep Purple connection?

"Hi Sheridan,

If you read the rest of the articles on the Caramba site ref: log of STS-107, all will become clear,
Cheers, Shell."

That is the response I got when I tried to find out what connection there was between Deep Purple and the Space Shuttle Columbia. That e-mail is from some guy named Shell from the Ian Gillan web site. Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan has his own web site chronicling his solo work. I had read something that Kalpana Chawla of Columbia liked Deep Purple and something about the crew listening to Deep Purple songs while on missions, specifically this ill-fated mission.

So I had to find out what was going on, and I did. Here is an excerpt from the Ian Gillan web site (Carumba). This is written by Kalpana's husband Jean-Pierre Harrison, and was obviously written prior to the catastrophe:

"As my wife, STS-107 crewmember Kalpana Chawla, has commented, "Deep Purple has something so superior." She and I attended the DP concert in Bossier City, Louisiana, during the 2001 US tour, her first-ever rock concert and my first-ever DP concert. Kalpana is not exactly a rock music aficionado, but nevertheless characterized the show as "a spiritual experience". She was enthused about being right next to the stage, just a few feet away from Gillan "the 'Jesus Christ Superstar singer - and I was right there!", and Steve Morse, whose overwhelmingly positive attitude is as strong an attraction as his brilliant musicianship.

"Kalpana chose 20 CDs to carry aboard the STS-107 mission, including "Machine Head" and "Purpendicular", both selected because they had aviation/space-related songs ("Space Truckin'" and "The Aviator", respectively). Also carried on the flight are CDs by several Indian musicians including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Ravi Shankar among others - Midori, Thelonius Monk, Steve Vai (for the rock and roll Hindu prayer on "Ultra Zone"), and Blackmore's Night. Also included is Rainbow's "Down to Earth", selected for Don Airey since there are not yet any DP lineup 8 releases. All of these CDs will be sent to the respective artists after the mission with certificates of flight.

"Shuttle crewmembers are given the option of selecting wake-up music during their missions. Kalpana asked me for suggestions so I passed the buck to Ian Gillan (whom I had never previously met) via the e-mail address on Caramba! I heard back from Ian quite quickly and he generously arranged to meet us at the Houston DP concert in June 2002. I sent Ian the list of the already selected wake-up music selections which included pieces by Abida Parveen, Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar, and Blackmore's Night.

"Ian commented that the band broke up laughing when they saw the list because their selection was "Space Truckin'", a piece a little more insistent than the others. Anyway, upon meeting Ian I assured him that "Space Truckin'" is quite subtle compared to some of the selections played during previous missions, such as marching band performances of university fight songs. I presented Ian with the "Machine Head", "Purpendicular" and "Down to Earth" CDs which he took to the other DP members for their signatures. Efforts are also underway to secure signatures from Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore to affix to these CDs.

"Accompanying me backstage were Rona Ramon, wife of STS-107 crewmember Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, and Marine Le Gouic and Ing Oei, both STS-107 payload scientists from the European Space Agency. Though Kalpana had planned to meet with DP, the STS-107 crew had a scheduling conflict which found them at Kennedy Space Center on the day of the concert. The launch, originally planned for August 2001, was rescheduled for July 2002, and the crew was reviewing the TCDT (Terminal Count Down Timeline). Anyway, the launch slipped again soon after with the date now set no earlier than January 16, 2003.

"At my request Simon Robinson of the Deep Purple Appreciation Society kindly tracked down a recording of "Space Truckin" with Steve on guitar. Not only is Steve a phenomenal musician, he has had a tremendous role in revitalizing DP (plus Kalpana really likes him). It is only appropriate to use this version of "Space Truckin" as wake-up music; Blackmore will be heard when "Shadow of the Moon" is played on a different date."

Jean-Pierre Harrison