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Space Shuttle Columbia and Her Crew
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Mission Specialist 2: Kalpana
Chawla
Kalpana Chawla,
41, was an aerospace engineer and an FAA Certified
Flight Instructor. Chawla 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.
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