Question

In your groups find out about the famous Indian astronauts and their achievements. Is there any woman astronaut in India ? Report your findings to the rest of the class.

Answer 1

The Groups A B and C found out information about the famous Indian astronauts that is given below :

1. Rakesh Sharma (Indian)
2. Kalpana Chawla (India born, U.SA. Citizen)
3. Sunita Williams (India born, U.S.A. Citizen)

1. Rakesh Sharma
Rakesh was the first Indian and 138th person to travel in space. Sharma joined the Indian Air Force and progressed rapidly through the ranks. Sharma, then a Squadron Leader and pilot with the Indian Air Force, embarked on a historic mission in, 1984 as part of a joint space programme between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Soviet lntercosmos space programme. He spent eight days in space aboard  the Salyut 7 space station. Launched along with two Soviet cosmonauts aboard Soyuz T-11 on the 2 April  1984. was 35-year-old Sharma. During the flight. Sharma conducted multi- spectral photography of northern India in anticipation of the construction of hydroelectric power stations in the Himalayas In a famous
conversation. he was asked by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi how India looked from space, to which he replied, Saare Jahan Se Achcha, (a reference to an iconic Urdu poem used in India's freedom struggle, usually referred to as 'Saare Jahaan se achcha Hindustan hamara; 'our land of Hindustan, is the best of the
entire world').

He was conferred with the honour of Hero of Soviet Union upon his return from space The Government of India conferred its highest gallantry award (during peace time), the Ashoka Chakra on him and the other two Russian members of his mission. Sharma and his backup, Wing Commander Ravish Malhotra, also prepared an elaborate series of zero-gravity Yoga exercises which the former had practised aboard the  Salyut 7. Retiring with the rank of Wing Commander, Rakesh Sharma joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as a test pilot at its Nashik Division. He was later based at the National Flight Test Center (NFTC) in Bangalore and worked on the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft program. among others.

2. Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian woman to travel into space and also the first Indian to perish in space. She graduated from Tagore School at Kamal, India in 1976 and was conferred the Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautica l engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982. She did her Master of Science Degree in aerospace engineering from University of Texas, 1984 ; and Doctorate of Philosophy in aerospace engineering from University of Colorad, 1988. Her space flight experience on STS-107 COLUMBIA was the 16-day flight that was a dedicated Science and Research Mission. But STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when space shuttle Columbia and the crew perished during entry, 16
minutes prior to scheduled landing. Daughter of India. the famous astronaut and scientist, Kalpana
dedicated her whole life to scientific and  astronomic research. She finally laid her life as supreme sacrifice on the path of human service during the journey of the Space Shuttle 'COLUMBIA. Kalpana was selected as an astronaut in 1994. She had the highest number of hours, logged in space. She was honored with several
posthumous awards like Congressional Space Medal of Honor NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA
Distinguished Service Medal etc.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on February 5, 2003 that the meteorological series of satellites, "METSAT' . will be renamed "KALPANA".

3. Sunita Williams
Deepak Pandya who is Sunita Williams' father is a famous neuroanatomist. Williams' roots on her father's side go back to Gujarat in India. She has been to India to visit her father on April 11,2007. She surpassed the record of 188 days and 4 hours set by Shannon Lucid in 1996.

Selected by NASA in June 1998, Williams began her training in August 1998. Her Astronaut Candidate training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiologica l training and ground school. It was all to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques

She surpassed Kathryn Thornton, who had three spacewalks. as the woman with the most spacewalks. Peggy Whitson later surpassed her for woman with the most spacewalks Following a period of training and evaluation, Williams worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency on the Russian contribution to the ISS, and with the first expedition crew sent to the ISS. Following the return on Expedition 1, Williams worked within the Robotics branch on the ISS Robotic Arm and the related Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.
She was a crewmember on the NEEMO 2 mission, living underwater in the Aquarius habitat for nine days in May 2002.

As of 2008, Williams served as NASA's Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. She was assigned as a backup crew member for Expedition 30 to the International Space Station to be flown in 2011 and was to be the Commander of Expedition 32, a six-month mission scheduled to begin in the spring of 2012.

Like many astronauts, Williams is a licensed amateur radio operator, having passed the technician class license exam in 2001. She was issued the call sign KD5PLB by the Federal Communications Commission on August 13, 2001. She used one of the two amateur radio stations aboard the ISS when she talked with school children.

In September 2007, Sunita Williams visited India. She went to the Sabarmati Ashram, the ashram set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1915, and her ancestral village Jhulasan in Gujarat She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the Worlcl Gujarati Society She is the first person of Indian origin who is not an Indian citizen to be presented the award. She also visited her cousin's home on her nephew's birthday. On October 4, 2007. 

She has the following awards and honors to her credit 

• Navy Commendation Medals (twice)
• Navy and Marine Corps Achievements Medal
• NASA Space Plight Medal
• Humanitarian Service Medal
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award