A girl born in Karnal, Haryana was the first Indian-origin American woman who made her way to space. We are talking about none other than Kalpana Chawla. She had the pride of being first India born American woman Astronaut to blast off from Florida and be a part of the successful space mission. Kalpana was born in Karnal, Haryana but was a naturalised U.S Citizen. She married a flight instructor - Jean Pierre Harrison. She was a certified flight instructor. After qualifying as a pilot, she applied to NASA for a space shuttle program. It was her success as a pilot that gave her the idea that she could be an astronaut. She was first hired as a research scientist. In 1994, she was selected by NASA for training as an astronaut among others. Thus she became the first Indian-American woman astronaut. According to him, an astronaut is a very able person. He has to know everything from biology to astrophysics to aeronautical engineering. An astronaut has encyclopaedic knowledge.