Kalpana would get animated while passionately discussing space and NASA. Her family often teased her saying she was not a person but a brain.
She sometimes told her family that she wanted to die in space. Her wish came true, perhaps too early.
With Israel's first astronaut Ilan Ramon (2nd-R) and Flight STS-107 crew (L-R) Astronauts Michael P Anderson, William C McCool, Rick D Husband, David M Brown, Laurel B Clark and Kalpana Chawla attend a party for crew members and their families one day before Space Shuttle Columbia's final launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Remembering Kalpana | Remembering Heroes
The Columbia Tragedy: The Full Coverage
Photo: Getty Images