{"id":"path/kalpana-chawla","kind":"path","v":1,"title":"Kalpana Chawla","line":"Aeronautics to NASA astronaut","aliases":[],"tags":["type:public"],"facts":[{"label":"Now","value":"Astronaut","trust":"community","source":0},{"label":"Turns","value":"8","trust":"community","source":0},{"label":"Steps with a source","value":"8","trust":"community","source":0},{"label":"Kind of path","value":"Public figure, from public sources","trust":"community","source":0},{"label":"Removal","value":"Anyone named can ask for removal","trust":"community","source":0}],"data":{"id":"kalpana-chawla","now":"Astronaut","from":"","name":"Kalpana Chawla","type":"public","turns":[{"id":"school-karnal","how":"took","kind":"work","year":"1976","title":"Finishes school in Karnal","where":"Tagore School, Karnal, completed in 1976"},{"id":"pec-aeronautical","how":"took","kind":"study","year":"1982","title":"Aeronautical engineering degree","where":"Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, 1982"},{"id":"ms-texas","how":"took","kind":"study","year":"1984","title":"Master's in the United States","where":"M.S. aerospace engineering, University of Texas, 1984"},{"id":"phd-colorado","how":"took","kind":"study","year":"1988","title":"Doctorate in aerospace engineering","where":"University of Colorado, 1988"},{"id":"nasa-ames","how":"took","kind":"work","year":"1988","title":"Researcher at NASA Ames","where":"Powered-lift fluid dynamics, from 1988"},{"id":"overset-methods","how":"took","kind":"work","year":"1993","title":"Joins Overset Methods Inc.","where":"Vice President and Research Scientist, 1993"},{"id":"astronaut-selected","how":"took","kind":"work","year":"1994","title":"Selected as a NASA astronaut","where":"Chosen Dec 1994; reported to Houston Mar 1995"},{"id":"sts-87","how":"now","kind":"work","year":"1997","title":"Flies as a NASA astronaut","where":"Mission specialist on STS-87, Nov to Dec 1997"}],"careers":[],"sources":[{"label":"Public interviews and widely reported profiles; not affiliated or endorsed","trust":"community"},{"url":"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/chawla_kalpana.pdf","label":"Kalpana Chawla (Ph.D.), NASA Astronaut: Biographical Data","trust":"community"},{"url":"https://tagorebaalniketan.com/kalpana-chawla-story/","label":"Kalpana Chawla Story","trust":"community"},{"url":"https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/engineering-college-pays-tribute-to-alumna-kalpana-chawla-586524/","label":"Engineering college pays tribute to alumna Kalpana Chawla","trust":"community"},{"url":"https://www.uta.edu/news/news-releases/2023/02/01/astronaut-and-uta-trailblazer-kalpana-chawla","label":"Remembering astronaut and UTA trailblazer Kalpana Chawla","trust":"community"}],"headline":"Aeronautics to NASA astronaut","initials":"KC"},"links":[{"rel":"career","id":"career/research-scientist"},{"rel":"career","id":"career/electronics-engineer"}],"sources":[{"label":"Public interviews and widely reported profiles; not affiliated or endorsed","trust":"community","method":"listed"},{"label":"Kalpana Chawla (Ph.D.), NASA Astronaut: Biographical Data (NASA Johnson Space Center)","url":"https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/chawla_kalpana.pdf","asOf":"2026-10-13","trust":"community","method":"official"},{"label":"Kalpana Chawla Story (Tagore Baal Niketan School, Karnal)","url":"https://tagorebaalniketan.com/kalpana-chawla-story/","asOf":"2026-10-13","trust":"community","method":"official"},{"label":"Engineering college pays tribute to alumna Kalpana Chawla (The Tribune)","url":"https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/engineering-college-pays-tribute-to-alumna-kalpana-chawla-586524/","asOf":"2026-10-13","trust":"community","method":"listed"},{"label":"Remembering astronaut and UTA trailblazer Kalpana Chawla (The University of Texas at Arlington)","url":"https://www.uta.edu/news/news-releases/2023/02/01/astronaut-and-uta-trailblazer-kalpana-chawla","asOf":"2026-10-13","trust":"community","method":"listed"},{"label":"Two CU-Boulder engineering alums fly NASA space shuttle Nov. 19 (University of Colorado Boulder)","url":"https://www.colorado.edu/today/1997/11/16/two-cu-boulder-engineering-alums-fly-nasa-space-shuttle-nov-19","asOf":"2026-10-13","trust":"community","method":"listed"},{"label":"Spacecraft named for late astronaut and CU Boulder graduate Kalpana Chawla (University of Colorado Boulder, Aerospace Engineering Sciences)","url":"https://www.colorado.edu/aerospace/2020/09/10/spacecraft-named-late-astronaut-and-cu-boulder-graduate-kalpana-chawla","asOf":"2026-10-13","trust":"community","method":"listed"}],"trust":"community","origin":"dataset","asOf":"2026-10-15","digest":"sha256:8b694a70e30d72bffaea2da3da60ce26e3f591328f137d0ec8f222caa40fc316"}