Kalpana Chawla was an Indian American astronaut and the first woman of Indian origin in space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Her first space mission began on November 19, 1997, as part of the six - astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS - 87. Chawla was the first Indian - born woman and the second Indian person to fly in space, following cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma who flew in 1984 on the Soyuz T - 11. On her first mission, Chawla traveled over 10. 4 million miles in 252 orbits of the earth, logging more than 372 hours in space.
Source: Wikipedia