In pics: Happy Birthday Kalpana Chawla, woman who touched the sky

Born in Karnal, India, Chawla died on February 1, 2003 over the southern United States when Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to scheduled landing. She is survived by her husband. Chawla was an enthusiastic hiker, back-packer and reader. She held a Certificated Flight Instructor's license with airplane and glider ratings, Commercial Pilot's licenses for single- and multi-engine land and seaplanes, and Gliders, and instrument rating for airplanes. Remembering her on her 50th birth anniversary.

A file photo shows Kalpana Chawla, sitting center with long hair, next to her classmates at Tagore Baal Niketan School, in Karnal, 130 kilometers from New Delhi, India. Chawala was a former student of the school, which sponsors two girls to visit NASA each year. The Indian-born Chawla was one of the seven astronauts killed when Space Shuttle Columbia broke up upon reentry February 1, 2003 over Texas. (Photo by Sondeep Shankar/Saab Press/Getty Images)

Kalpana Chawla, Space Shuttle mission specialist for STS-107, poses for a picture on December 18, 2002 at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The crew of STS 107 will fly aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, which is scheduled to launch on January 16, 2003. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

Flight engineer Kalpana Chawla (R) answers reporters' questions during a press conference December 20, 2002 at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Mission STS-107 is scheduled to launch January 16, 2003, and will be carrying an Israeli payload specialist. (Photo by Matt Stroshane/Getty Images)

In this handout photo from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the STS-107 crewmembers pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait in the SPACEHAB Research Double Module (RDM) aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia taken between January 16 and February 1, 2003 in space. (L to R) (bottom row), wearing red shirts to signify their shift color, are astronauts Kalpana Chawla, Rick D. Husband, Laurel B. Clark and Ilan Ramon. (L to R) (top row) wearing blue shirts, are astronauts David M. Brown, William C. McCool, and Michael P. Anderson. Ramon represents the Israeli Space Agency. This picture was on a roll of unprocessed film later recovered by searchers from the debris of the exploded shuttle. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board investigators say that a culture of low funding, strict scheduling and an eroded safety program at NASA doomed the flight of the space shuttle. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, STS-107 mission specialist, looks over a procedures checklist in the SPACEHAB Research Double Module aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia January 27, 2003 In Space. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

(L-R) Astronauts Kalpana Chawla and Laurel B Clark, both Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 mission specialists, are photographed prior to a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) September 18, 2001 in Houston, Texas. Astronauts Chawla and Clark and their five other crew members are presumed dead after Space Shuttle Columbia broke up upon re-entry to earth February 1, 2003. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)

Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon (2nd-R), and six members of his Columbia crew (L-R) Astronauts Michael P Anderson, William C. McCool, Rick D Husband, David M Brown, Laurel B Clark and Kalpana Chawla stand together as they attend a party for crew members and their families one day prior to launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida in this family photo made available February 1, 2003. All astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia are presumed dead after their ship broke up over Texas February 1, 2003 approximately fifteen minutes before its scheduled landing in Florida. (Photo by Getty Images)

This file photograph shows Sanpreet Kaur (R) and Namita Alung (C), students of Tagore Baal Niketan School, posing with astronaut Kalpana Chawla and her husband in Houston, Texas. Chawala was a former student of the school, which sponsors two girls to visit NASA each year. The Indian-born Chawla was one of the seven astronauts killed when Space Shuttle Columbia broke up upon reentry February 1, 2003 over Texas. (Photo by Sondeep Shankar/Saab Press/Getty Images)

Tagore Baal Niketan School Director Vimla Raheja (L) and Deputy Director Daljit Madan, who taught astronaut Kalpana Chawla, stand next to a memorial school board February 4, 2003 in Karnal, 130 kilometers from New Delhi, India. Chawala was a former student of the school, which sponsors two girls to visit NASA each year. The Indian-born Chawla was one of the seven astronauts killed when Space Shuttle Columbia broke up upon reentry February 1, 2003 over Texas. (Photo by Sondeep Shankar/Saab Press/Getty Images)

In this NASA handout, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe visits Arlington National Cemetary to lay a wreath honoring the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia February 1, 2005 in Arlington, Virginia. Crewmembers Rick Husband, Willie McCool, David Brown, Laurel Clark, Mike Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla died on February 1, 2003 after piece of foam, falling from the external tank during launch opened a hole in one of the Shuttle's wings, leading to the breakup of the orbiter during re-entry. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

Tis image from NASA video shot by Shuttle Mission Specialist Laurel Clark shows Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla (L) and Commander Rick Husband (R) on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Columbia shortly before reentry February 1, 2003 while in space. The 13-minute video was found in the wreckage of the Space Shuttle Columbia near Palestine, Texas five days after the Shuttle broke apart. NASA says the plasma gas seen in the video is normal on all shuttle landings. The tape begins after the de-orbit engine burn and shows the crew preparing to land. NASA Mission Control lost contact with the Space Shuttle Columbia during the reentry phase of mission STS-107 February 1, 2003 and later learned that the shuttle had broken up over Texas. Debris from the wreckage drifted hundreds of miles from central Texas to Louisiana. All seven astronauts onboard the Shuttle died in the crash. (Photo by NASA-TV/Getty Images)

This image from NASA video shot by Shuttle Mission Specialist Laurel Clark shows Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla (L) and Commander Rick Husband (R) on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Columbia shortly before reentry February 1, 2003 while in space. The 13-minute video was found in the wreckage of the Space Shuttle Columbia near Palestine, Texas five days after the Shuttle broke apart. NASA says the plasma gas seen in the video is normal on all shuttle landings. The tape begins after the de-orbit engine burn and shows the crew preparing to land. NASA Mission Control lost contact with the Space Shuttle Columbia during the reentry phase of mission STS-107 February 1, 2003 and later learned that the shuttle had broken up over Texas. Debris from the wreckage drifted hundreds of miles from central Texas to Louisiana. All seven astronauts onboard the Shuttle died in the crash. (Photo by NASA-TV/Getty Images)

Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, a 41-year-old flight engineer and mission specialist for Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107, poses for a formal photograph March 8, 2002 in an unspecified location. Astronaut Chawla and her six other crew members are presumed dead after Space Shuttle Columbia broke up upon re-entry to earth February 1, 2003. (Photo by NASA/Getty Images)