Wallops Island (USA): USA's Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft, named after astronaut Kalpana Chawla, was on Friday launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
The American commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station has been named after fallen NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first India-born woman to enter space, for her key contributions to human spaceflight. The Cygnus capsule, named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, will deliver 8,000 pounds of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station, NASA said.
Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company, had announced that its Cygnus capsule will be named the "S.S. Kalpana Chawla", in memory of the mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.
The commercial cargo spacecraft was set to blast off on Thursday night, but its launch was scrubbed by about 9:40 p.m. due to an unknown problem with a component of ground support equipment.
This marked the second delay in total for Northrop Grumman's latest commercial resupply mission. The night launch was already pushed back from its original launch window of Tuesday evening due to weather conditions.
Read: Northrop Grumman names spacecraft in honour of Kalpana Chawla
While Chawla made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the space program, her legacy lives on. She has not only inspired her colleagues but also many back in India, to follow in her footsteps. Her final research conducted onboard Columbia helped understand astronaut health and safety during spaceflight.
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3.. 2.. 1.. liftoff. 🚀@NorthropGrumman's Antares rocket & Cygnus spacecraft launch from @NASA_Wallops. This Cygnus, named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, will deliver ~8,000 pounds of @ISS_Research and supplies to @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/W1WIOd5KIA
— NASA (@NASA) October 3, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">3.. 2.. 1.. liftoff. 🚀@NorthropGrumman's Antares rocket & Cygnus spacecraft launch from @NASA_Wallops. This Cygnus, named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, will deliver ~8,000 pounds of @ISS_Research and supplies to @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/W1WIOd5KIA
— NASA (@NASA) October 3, 20203.. 2.. 1.. liftoff. 🚀@NorthropGrumman's Antares rocket & Cygnus spacecraft launch from @NASA_Wallops. This Cygnus, named the S.S. Kalpana Chawla, will deliver ~8,000 pounds of @ISS_Research and supplies to @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/W1WIOd5KIA
— NASA (@NASA) October 3, 2020
Born in Haryana, India, Chawla moved to the United States to earn her master's and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1984 and University of Colorado in 1988, respectively. She then began her career at NASA, conducting research in fluid dynamics at the Ames Research Center in California.
After becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, Chawla applied for and became a NASA astronaut as a member of "The Flying Escargot," NASA's 15th class of trainees. In 1997, she launched on STS-87, a 15-day shuttle mission that was dedicated to the science flying as part of the fourth United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4).
Read: Kalpana Chawla: Tributes pour in for India's first woman in space
Chawla's second spaceflight, STS-107, came to a tragic end on February 1, 2003, following 16 days of conducting science onboard the space shuttle Columbia.
A small piece of foam that struck the orbiter's left wing during launch created a hole that went undetected during the mission. Upon Columbia's return to Earth, hot plasma entered the wing, tearing it apart, and the resulting loss of control led to the vehicle disintegrating and the death of the crew.
(With inputs from agencies)
