US spacecraft named after late Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla

US spacecraft named after late Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla

A tribute to fallen NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla and her contributions to human spaceflight, an American commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station has been named after Chawla, the first India-born woman to enter space. The announcement was made by Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company, that its next 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. "Today we honour Kalpana Chawla, who made history at @NASA as the first female astronaut of Indian descent. Her contributions to human spaceflight have had a lasting impact," the company said in tweet on Wednesday. "Northrop Grumman is proud to name the NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft after former astronaut Kalpana Chawla. It is the company's tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spacefl…