Pioneers Don't Have Role Models
From Karnal to outer space with Kalpana Chawla
by Leena Prasad
This article appeared in the May 1998 issue of India Currents.
An hour and a half to travel around the earth once. "My goodness how small this planet really is," says Kalpana Chawla, recalling her emotions during a flight into space.
Chawla, 34, is the first female astronaut with origins in India who has had the opportunity to participate in a space mission. She has traveled 6.5 million miles in 252 orbits of the Earth and logged 376 hours and 34 minutes in space.
"Pioneers don't have role models," she says when asked to talk about hers. Underneath the friendly and girlish tone o her voice, there's a strong current of confidence. But there were lots of people in her life who helped her along the path. Teachers in High School. College Professors. People she admired--Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Wright Brothers. Any and all explorers.
At the ago of 11, Chawla's imagination was ignited by the glamorous photographs in the Illustrated Weekly of India, of the Viking Landers' Mars mission. Being able to ride her bike behind the very slow moving little yellows planes of a nearby sainik school, an Indian military school, further sparked her interest which culminated into a ride in one of those planes with the help of her father. The combination of these experiences fueled a desire to become an "Airplane Engineer" when she was only a child. By the age of 34, she had traveled to the other side of the world to not only become an Aerospace Engineer but to surpass that childhood dream and become an astronaut.
"The shocking beauty of the emerald necklace worn by Australia," was particularly memorable moment for her, she says, as she describes the barrier reef around the northeastern region of Australia, as seen from space. "You feel like Alice in Wonderland," she said. "The combination that you are weightless and looking out, lends a storybook feeling. The colors of sunrise and sunset are awesome...you see a whole range of colors...very dark...violets and blues...they change very fast."
It's an adventure accessible only to a select few.
When asked about the difficulties of becoming an Aerospace Engineer, Chawla seems slightly confused by the question. On further prodding, it quickly becomes obvious that she was too focused on her goal to have noticed the hardships, either academic or political.
She points out the media seems hungry for racist and misogynist anecdotes simply because she happens to be a woman of color. There aren't any. Some reports have exaggerated and misquoted the story about the professor who tried to discourage her from studying Aerospace Engineering. When she initially expressed an interest in Aerospace Engineering, she was warned by an advisor that it would be almost impossible to find a job and was encouraged to pursue and alternate engineering discipline. Chawla, however, refused to change her mind. Later on, the same professor would use her a s an example of someone who knows how to stay focused on their goal and pursue it despite any odds.
"There are people who accept you because it's a novelty and people who discourage you because it's just a novelty. It they can change you--you too, can change them," she says when asked about the advantage and disadvantages of being a woman astronaut.
Even in her personal life, her ambition, persistence, and focus won her support for her endeavors. Her parents were reluctant about blessing her move to the U.S. but they did not try to stop her simply because they were convinced of the seriousness of her ambitions. Chawla points out that her mother always told her to do what makes her happy. Her father wasn't convinced about the practicality of her career but he never pressured her to change her mind or to follow another career path. Her husband is also very supportive and enthusiastic of Chawla's career and accomplishments.
"Do something because you really want to do it. So even it is a goal which is not necessarily within reach--it may be something which only a handful can do--but if you really like what you do, then you've never really lost anything. But if you are doing it just for the goal, and don't enjoy the path, then I think you're cheating yourself," Chawla says when explaining how her own internal focus kept her from wavering and generated support from those around her.
She chuckles suddenly. She is remembering something, her only experience which could potentially qualify as gender discrimination. She talks about how she goes to different towns and rents small airplanes to fly around. "Sometimes the checkout person isn't sure if I can really fly." This has happened to her even after her much publicized flight into space. So she tells them, "Fly with me and see what you think." Sometimes they fly with her but often her confidence wins their trust.
Chawla has a particular affinity for aerobatics and tail- wheel airplanes. She has a Cerficated Flight Instructor's licence and Commercial Pilot's licenses for single and multi-engine land airplanes and single-engine seaplanes, instrument rating, and Private Glider. It was after qualifying for her pilot's license in 1987 that she seriously considered applying to the space shuttle program. The pilot's license is not an acceptance criterion but it helped her build confidence, "because you know you can master other challenges when the time comes."
Conquering challenges built the foundation which enabled her to become a rocket scientist. She was born in Karnal, India. Chawla studied at the Tagore School, in Karnal, and obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, in 1982. She earned a Masters degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1984 and a Doctorate in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado in 1988.
Her first job was with the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, where she worked in the area of powered-lift computation fluid dynamics. In 1993, she left NASA for a position as Vice President and Research Scientist at Overset Methods, Inc., Los Altos, California. In 1994, she was one of 23 candidates, selected from 2000 applicants, to be given a chance to prepare at NASA to become an astronaut. She worked for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches after completing training, undergoing evaluations, and working on technical issues at NASA.
Chawla's claim to fame, however, occurred when she was chosen to be a mission specialist on STS-87 the fourth U.S. Micro gravity Payload (MIR) flight which lasted from November 19 to December 5, 1997. The selection process consisted of rigorous physical and medical evaluations at the Johnston Space Center (JSC) and several rounds of interviews. The astronaut selection is followed up a by a special training at JSC. The candidates are introduced to the NASA centers, and instructed in land/sea survival and aircraft operations. After successful completion of the training, the candidates are officially classified as "astronauts." They prepared to become shuttle crew members by completing specific assignments at the NASA Astronaut Office.
The astronaut training is quite rigorous. The candidates work with mock-up shuttles, motion-base simulators, T-38 jets and parasail. A simulated version of the space shuttle cockpit is used to learn to fix malfunctions and to learn survival skills.
Also memorable was the water survival training which prepares astronauts for mishaps if they land in water. The trainees were launched from the deck of a boat by parachute. After landing in the water, they had to wait for the rescues ers to turn up. Chawla asia, "They don't tell you when they'll come, but you know a the end of the day someone will get you."
She passed the tests, completed the training, soared into space and secured her name in future books on history and science. And earned the right to the most popular question asked of her by children "Did you see the movie 'Aliens'?
Chawla had fantasized about flying into space; she had not expected, however, that it would happen.
"You seem to be working real hard. Probably don't have time for space flight?" her boss called her to his office and asked. She wasn't shocked, she recalls. She just replied in normal tone that yes she was buys but she could probably make the time.
"You can't tell anyone...in case there's a last minute change" was the answer and that was that. Just another day in the life of Kalpana Chawla.