3.7M views · 10K reactions | She perished along with six other astronauts in one of the worst space disasters ever, 18 years ago. But not before she made history and inspired millions as the first Indian-born woman to go to space. | Brut India | Facebook

"Kalpana, we are proud of you." Kalpana Chawla, first woman of Indian origin to travel to space, is hailed as an inspiration and national hero. Born in Karnal, Haryana, she moved to the US to study aerospace engineering in the 1980s. She was part of two Nasa space missions - one in 1997 and the other in 2003. She and six other astronauts died tragically on 1 February 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it was returning to Earth. On her 62nd birth anniversary, here is a clip of