Kalpana Chawla turns 61: Remembering the 1st Indian woman to fly to space

Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian origin to venture into space, would have celebrated her 62nd birthday on March 17 had her life not been tragically cut short in the 2003 Columbia disaster. Chawla, born on March 17, 1963, etched her name in history as the first woman of Indian descent to journey into space. Following her maiden voyage in 1997, she managed to complete 30 days in space over two Space Shuttle missions.