(born July 1, 1961, Karnal, India—died Feb. 1, 2003, over Texas), Indian-born American astronaut who , was a mission specialist on the space shuttle Columbia. Chawla was the first woman to study aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College; she continued her education at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she earned a doctorate in aeronautical engineering (1988). She first flew on the Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator.
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