Salaam, spacewalker

Kalpana Chawla has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre, her second mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Not only is she the firs...

Kalpana Chawla has blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre, her second mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Not only is she the first Indian-born woman astronaut to be a part of a NASA mission, but unlike Rakesh Sharma who was the first Indian in space but who was basically an international passenger on a Soviet spaceflight without mission responsibilities, Chawla is a career astronaut with crucial duties to perform on board.

On her first mission in 1997, seven hours after the launch, Columbia passed over Karnal. Sitting in the flight deck was Chawla carrying with her 8212; as all astronauts do 8212; mementos from her home. She took her school T-shirt with Tagore School, Karnal, embossed on it. And another T-shirt with her college logo 8212; Punjab Engineering College 8212; where she earned her graduate degree.

There were other invisible companions riding along with Chawla on Columbia: not only the children from her school, many of whom have been visiting the NASA space centre as part of a programme started by Chawla, but every thrilled and proud Indian, looking out at earth from the eyes of our first NASA astronaut.

Although there were reports of a possible error by Chawla during the deployment of the Spartan solar observatory in a malfunction of the shuttle8217;s robotic arm which caused Spartan to tumble away, Chawla8217;s place in Indian history was secure. She had become a role model for thousands of budding young space walkers and an embodiment of the successes of Indian scientific education.

Aerospace engineers from the Indian Institutes of Technology, as well as from technological centres of excellence all over this country, have had a long and extremely fruitful relationship with NASA over the years and India has the most advanced space programmes among the developing countries.

Although our space programmes concentrate largely on satellite launches rather than in placing astronauts in orbit, Chawla8217;s success in gaining a master8217;s and then a doctorate in aerospace engineering in the US reveals the strength of the engineering foundations available here. Her success also reveals that in spite of the general status of India8217;s women, there are also instances of several no-nonsense and determined individuals 8212; Padmavati Bandopadhyay, first woman air vice marshal being another example 8212; being able to quietly achieve their life8217;s dreams.