Kalpana Chawla Died Without Achieving One Of Her Dreams

Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to touch the sky, aspired to fly to India with the full crew of her first #space voyage in 1997. She had spoken to then-Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, when he invited the entire crew to visit India. Chawla phoned the Indian embassy in Washington shortly after her return to earth on that mission and expressed her desire for the entire crew to visit India. The embassy moved right to work on her request, but soon India experienced a change in administration and the changes may have contributed to the delay. On Feb 1, 2003, the #SpaceShuttleColumbia broke into pieces in its return to earth. #KalpanaChawla along with her crew never visited India.

Aditya Pran Changkakati

A multimedia journalist with a keen interest and observance of rural development, healthcare, and civic issues.