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Before you read
In 1997, an Indian – American, Kalpana Chawla, was part of the international crew aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle, Columbia, becoming the first woman born in India to go into space. Sadly, the second mission in Columbia ended in tragedy.
A News Report:
Tragedy in Space
U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia
breaks into flames
U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia
breaks into flames
In an unprecedented space tragedy, U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia, carrying India-born American astronaut Kalpana Chawla and six others, broke apart in flames as it streaked over Texas towards its landing strip on Saturday, 1 February 2003, killing all seven on board. The shuttle lost contact with NASA at about 9 a.m. (19.30 hrs. 1ST) as it came in for landing. It was flying at an altitude of over | 200,000 feet and travelling at over 20,000 km. per hour when ground control lost contact with the shuttle. Columbia had lifted off on 16 January 2003, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It had stayed in orbit for 16 days and the seven-member crew conducted 80 experiments before it began its downward journey, which ended in tragedy. This was Columbia’s 28th space flight and the shuttle was said to be good for 100 flights. |
Explanation:
The above paragraphs serve as an introduction in which the writer first summarises the entire lesson; he/she talks about a tragic event of the Columbia - a space shuttle exploding while coming back from space. The newspaper clipping gives us details of how and where the explosion happened. All the seven people who were on board died in the explosion. It was a sad day for Americans, Indians and humankind, as well as the occupants of Columbia, were some of the brightest minds to exist in that day.
A photograph of Columbia launching (Picture does not relate to the original space shuttle, used only for understanding)
One of the victims of this accident was Kalpana Chawla, a Haryana born, Indian-American astronaut. This is the person around whom the entire chapter is centred. The chapter further goes on to relate how Kalpana Chawla transformed herself from a Haryana based aeronautical engineering graduate to an icon who made millions of Indians proud.
Meanings of difficult words:
| No. | Word | Meaning |
1 | Crew | A team of people who are skilled in different departments, trained to work together as a single unit. |
2 | Tragedy | Any happening that makes us very sad. |
3 | Summarise | To explain any lengthy topic in a few short lines. |
4 | On board | To be inside any vehicle that travels. |
5 | Victim | Any person who has been harmed or killed. |
6 | Inbound | To move towards a target. |
Reference:
National Council of Educational Research and Training (2006). Honeysuckle. An Indian - American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawla (pp. 45-53). Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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