New Delhi: An Indian-American astronaut and the first Indian woman in space Kalpana Chawla, was one of the seven astronauts who lost their lives in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003. Her life and her achievements have always been a source of inspiration for youths.

Here are some facts about her:

1) Born on March 1962 Haryana, she completed her school from Karnal. She finished aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh.

2) In 1982, she moved to the US to pursue Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas followed with a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado.

3) In 1988, she started working at the NASA Ames Research Center.

4) In 1997, she made her first step towards the stars as she got her first opportunity to fly the space shuttle Columbia on flight STS-87

5) On February 1, 2003, along with six other crew members, Kalpana Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-107 mission. This was her second and the last flight to space.

Twitter also paid tributes to the first Indian woman in space Kalpana Chawla