A Tribute to Astronaut Kalpana Chawla & the Entire Crew of STS-107

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It's a cool, sunny saturday afternoon in Palo Alto, California. February 1, 2003. I sit at my computer, it's just a little past noon Pacific Time. I've just attending to an unexpected household chore. I am checking my email at a leisurely pace. As I log onto my Yahoo portal, I scroll briefly down the latest headlines... Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, 7 brave men & women gone... 1st Indian born woman astronaut, Kalpana Chawla among those who perished...

I immediately recognized her face from an article I had seen in India Currents a couple of years back. I recalled how proud I was to read about an Indian born woman who achieved such a level of accomplishment in a field totally out of the ordinary. She was a pioneer. She was a spirit who persevered and followed her life's passion to reach for the moon. Her unwavering journey is one which inspired a greater sense of hope within me to dare to continue to fathom the unthinkable, the outrageous, the totally uncharted, supposedly impossible dreams... to continue toward the realization of our own personal adventures.

She was energy encapsulated by the warmth of humanity's unyielding spirit to discover the truth of the heavens. She was a little girl who chose to create her own pathway to reach the luminosity of the eternal skies. She was a woman who moved with joy and confidence in the light of her adventures. She was modest yet focused on the realization of her hearts quest for knowledge of the worlds afar.

She reminds us of the beauty and joyous spirit of adventure; the tickling sense of euphoria when one comes off their first glider ride as a child having just seen the expansiveness of the world and nature's breathtaking beauty through the eyes of a soaring eagle. If we look really deep inside of ourselves, we can dust off the lethargy from our spirits and realize we all have this rocket fuel within us to aspire and reach for the stars as Kalpana did in her short, yet potent lifetime.

Kalpana taught us the power of life by living hers to the very fullest. She, and her fellow astronauts are a role model to people around the world. These incredible folks were space dreamers who showed us that yes, life is about living every moment to the utter fullest of possibilities. Enjoying those little moments, those incredibly grandiose moments and all the tiny nuances of existence tucked in between... this is our life... we are living and creating it everyday, we know not when it shall be our time to move on, so the kindness, the sharing, the friendships, the journeys... they are today and now... may we not only ponder this thought for a moment, but cherish the beauty of the complexities of time and light refracted... the resulting spectrum of life is uniquely ours, each of us has the power to create our own realities.

If we should quiver at the enormity of our deepest aspirations, may we look upon the lives of our brave astronauts who feared not to dream light years beyond their earthly horizons. And may we truly be inspired by their lives, forever enriched by their infinite light and power of being. Their love for life shall continue to emanate from the heavens showering us with it's beauty and remembrance in that simple truth... life is but today, let us enjoy it and share in it's warmth and peaceful embrace.

Kavita, Editor-in-Chief, February 4, 2003

(This piece was written on February 3rd, 2003)

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Crew of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107

This weekend, we share a moment to remember the 7 space pioneers of Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107, lost on Feb. 1, 2003. Their adventurous spirit shall be missed. Included was a woman of courage, honor and a true inspiration to girls & boys around the world. Kalpana Chawla, a girl who drew airplanes as a child and spent long hours staring at passing aircrafts overhead.

''The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverence to follow it. Wishing you a great journey.''

"When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system,''

"When you are going for a goal, the journey is the best part,” she said. “If you don’t even enjoy getting there, then most of the fun is out of it, and one should ask oneself if it’s worth it.”

-- Kalpana Chawla, 1st Indian born woman astronaut

"Astronauts have an unaccountable hold on us. They are explorers. Curious, humorous, serious, daring. Where they go, they go in peace. Every kid wants to be one. Astronauts are the essence of humanity -- the good parts. They are somewhere inside each and every one of us."

-- Tony Phillips, avid spaceflight fan and editor of Science@nasa.

In solemn memory of the Space Shuttle Crew of STS-107: Rick Husband, William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Mike Anderson, Laurel Clark, Ilan Ramon.

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