Kalpana Chawla: She Watched Planes Over Her Small Town… Then Flew Into Space

Have you ever watched a plane and wanted to fly it?

A girl in a small Indian town did.

Years later, she flew around the Earth 252 times.

This is the story of Kalpana Chawla.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Engineering. Engineering is the work of designing and building things like machines, planes and bridges.

She studied engineering in India and America.

Astronaut. An astronaut is a person who travels into space.

NASA chose her as a new astronaut.

Shuttle. The space shuttle was a spaceship that flew into space and came back to land like a plane.

The shuttle took her into space.

Mission. A mission is an important job or trip that a team is sent to do.

Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.

Dream big. When you dream big, you hope for something great, even if it seems impossible.

She showed girls in India how to dream big.

Now, one pattern: have you ever.

We use it to ask about experiences at any time in your life.

She saw the Himalayas from space.

Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

Ready? Let's begin.

Kalpana Chawla was born in Karnal, a small town in northern India, in the early 1960s.

Her family called her Montu.

When she started school, she chose her own name: Kalpana.

It means "imagination".

Near her home, there was a small flying club.

Kalpana and her brother rode their bicycles to watch the planes.

In art class, she drew airplanes.

Could a girl from Karnal ever fly up there?

Has anyone ever told you that something is not for you?

People told Kalpana that engineering was not for girls.

Her father hoped she would be a doctor or a teacher.

But she studied aeronautical engineering.

In 1982, she finished her degree.

Then she moved to the United States.

She studied in Texas and Colorado and became a doctor of aerospace engineering.

She worked for NASA on how air moves around planes.

She also became a flying teacher, and she loved flying upside down.

In 1994, NASA chose her as one of nineteen new astronauts.

She trained for years as an astronaut.

Then the big day came.

On 19 November 1997, she sat in the space shuttle Columbia.

Ten. Nine. Eight.

The engines roared.

The shuttle shook.

A few minutes later, everything was quiet.

Below her was the blue Earth.

Have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

Kalpana did. She was the first woman born in India to go to space.

On this mission, she flew around the Earth 252 times.

Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.

She said: "Earth is very beautiful.

I wish everyone could see it."

Very few people have ever seen it like that.

In 2003, she flew on a second mission, again on Columbia.

On 1 February, on the way home, there was an accident.

Kalpana and the six other astronauts died.

India named a weather satellite after her.

Many students from her old school in Karnal have visited NASA since 1998.

She showed girls in India how to dream big.

Let's review. She studied engineering in India and America.

NASA chose her as a new astronaut.

The shuttle took her into space.

Her first mission lasted almost sixteen days.

She showed girls in India how to dream big.

And remember: have you ever seen the Himalayas from space?

Kalpana Chawla's story teaches us: your imagination can take you higher than the sky.

Want more interesting lessons?

Go to brightlivesenglish.com.

Please subscribe and learn with us.