Kalpana Chawla was born in Karnal, India - Multiple Choice & Short Question for HSC English First Paper - English for Today for Class 11 and 12 / Seen Passage for HSC

1. Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.

Chawla was born in Karnal, India. She completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School, Karnal. She is the first Indian-born woman and the second person in space from this sub-continent. After graduating in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, in 1982, Chawla moved to the United States the same year. She obtained her Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in 1984. Later she did her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado. Determined to become an astronaut even in the face of the Challenger disaster in 1986 that broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members, Chawla joined NASA in 1988. She began working as a Vice President where she   did   Computational   Fluid   Dynamics   (CFD)   research   on   vertical   take-off   and   landing.     In 1991 she got U.S. citizenship and started her career as a NASA astronaut in 1995. She was selected for her first flight in 1996. She spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, “You are just your intelligence.” She had traveled 10.67 million miles, as many as 252 times around the Earth. Her first space mission (Mission STS 87) began on 19 November in 1997 with six other astronauts on the Space Shuttle Columbia. On her first mission that lasted for 15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes and 4 seconds, she traveled 6.5 million miles. She was responsible for deploying  the Spartan Satellite which however malfunctioned, necessitating a spacewalk by Winston Scott and Tako Doi, two of her fellow astronauts, to retrieve the satellite.

          A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 5

a)  What could be the closest meaning for ‘take off’ in the second paragraph?

i. To settle ii. Leave the ground and start flying iii. To remove something iv. To start a journey

b)  The word ‘retrieve’ in the third paragraph refers to —.

i. get back ii. regain iii. repossess iv. all of them

c)  ‘Intelligence’ in the second paragraph could be replaced by —.

i. brainpower ii. idiocy iii. futility iv. Silliness

d)  Chawla belonged to a/an — family.

i. affluent ii. poverty stricken

iii. middle class iv. lower middle class

e)  The best synonym of ‘research’ is —

i. read ii. study iii. have a view iv. skim through.

a) Answer the following questions. 10

a)  What, according to text, is Chawla’s position among the women going to outer space?

b)  Mention three degrees received by Chawla?

c)  Why did Chawla leave India?

d)  What does the expression “you are just your intelligence” mean?

e)  Do you find any ambition in Chawla? If any, mention.

Ans. to the ques.

1.A. Ans. (a) ii. Leave the ground and start flying (b) iv. all of them (c) i. brainpower (d) i. affluent (e) ii. study.

1.B. Ans.

a)  Chawla is the first Indian born women and the second person in space from this subcontinent. She is a great woman of this subcontinent.

b)   Chawla had a sound educational background. She had her graduation degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College. She secured Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas. The last degree i.e. Ph.d was also done by her.

c)  Chawla was an ambitious woman. She wanted to have better higher education. She also intended to fly outer space. The USA was a suitable land to materialize all her purposes. So she left India for the USA.

d)   This is, in fact, a great speech made by Chawla when she was traveling in the weightlessness of space. This very statement indicates that a man is nothing but the harvest of wisdom. By dint of his wisdom or intelligence he can conquer everything.

e)  I think Chawla was very much ambitious. Her ambition drove him to the USA. Her ambition made her an astronaut.

Bangla Translation

চাওলা ভারতের কর্ণালে জন্মগ্রহণ করেন। তিনি কর্ণালের ঠাকুর বাল নিকেতন সিনিয়র সেকেন্ডারি স্কুলে প্রাথমিক শিক্ষা সম্পন্ন করেন। তিনি প্রথম ভারতীয় বংশোদ্ভূত মহিলা এবং এই উপমহাদেশের দ্বিতীয় মহাকাশচারী। ১৯৮২ সালে ভারতের পাঞ্জাব ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং কলেজ থেকে অ্যারোনটিক্যাল ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিংয়ে স্নাতক ডিগ্রি অর্জনের পর, চাওলা একই বছর মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে চলে যান। ১৯৮৪ সালে তিনি টেক্সাস বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে অ্যারোস্পেস ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিংয়ে স্নাতকোত্তর ডিগ্রি অর্জন করেন। পরে তিনি ১৯৮৮ সালে কলোরাডো বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে অ্যারোস্পেস ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিংয়ে পিএইচডি করেন। ১৯৮৬ সালে চ্যালেঞ্জার দুর্ঘটনার মুখোমুখি হয়েও একজন মহাকাশচারী হওয়ার জন্য দৃঢ়প্রতিজ্ঞ, যা উড্ডয়নের ৭৩ সেকেন্ডের মধ্যেই ভেঙে পড়ে এবং এর ফলে এর সাতজন ক্রু সদস্যের মৃত্যু হয়। চাওলা ১৯৮৮ সালে নাসায় যোগ দেন। তিনি ভাইস প্রেসিডেন্ট হিসেবে কাজ শুরু করেন যেখানে তিনি উল্লম্ব টেক-অফ এবং অবতরণ সম্পর্কিত কম্পিউটেশনাল ফ্লুইড ডায়নামিক্স (সিএফডি) গবেষণা করেন। ১৯৯১ সালে তিনি মার্কিন নাগরিকত্ব পান এবং ১৯৯৫ সালে নাসার একজন মহাকাশচারী হিসেবে তার কর্মজীবন শুরু করেন। ১৯৯৬ সালে তিনি তার প্রথম উড্ডয়নের জন্য নির্বাচিত হন। মহাকাশের ভারহীনতায় ভ্রমণের সময় তিনি নিম্নলিখিত কথাগুলি বলেছিলেন, "তুমিই কেবল তোমার বুদ্ধিমত্তা।" তিনি ১০.৬৭ মিলিয়ন মাইল ভ্রমণ করেছিলেন, যা পৃথিবীর চারপাশে প্রায় ২৫২ বার ভ্রমণ করেছিল। তার প্রথম মহাকাশ অভিযান (মিশন এসটিএস ৮৭) ১৯৯৭ সালের ১৯ নভেম্বর স্পেস শাটল কলম্বিয়ায় ছয়জন মহাকাশচারীর সাথে শুরু হয়েছিল। ১৫ দিন, ১৬ ঘন্টা, ৩৪ মিনিট এবং ৪ সেকেন্ড স্থায়ী তার প্রথম অভিযানে তিনি ৬.৫ মিলিয়ন মাইল ভ্রমণ করেছিলেন। তিনি স্পার্টান স্যাটেলাইট স্থাপনের জন্য দায়ী ছিলেন, যা ত্রুটিপূর্ণ ছিল, যার ফলে তার দুই সহকর্মী মহাকাশচারী উইনস্টন স্কট এবং টাকো দোইকে উপগ্রহটি উদ্ধার করার জন্য মহাকাশে হাঁটতে হয়েছিল।

Ad

Passage-2

1. Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.

Her (Chawla’s) first space mission (Mission STS 87) began on 19 November 1997 with six other astronauts on the Space Shuttle Columbia. On her first mission that lasted for 15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes and 4 seconds, she traveled 6.5 million miles. She was responsible for deploying the Spartan Satellite which however malfunctioned, necessitating a spacewalk by Winston Scott and Tako Doi, two of her fellow astronauts, to retrieve the satellite. In 2000 she was selected for her second space mission STS 107. This mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems.      On 16 January 2003, Kalpana Chawla finally started her new mission with six other space crew on the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia. She was one of the mission specialists. Chawla’s responsibilities included the microgravity experiments, for which the crew conducted nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety. After a 16 day scientific mission in space, on 1 February 2003, Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

All the crew in Columba including Chawla died only 16 minutes prior to their scheduled landing. Investigation shows that this fatal accident happened due to a damage in one of Columbia’s wings caused by a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeling off during the launch. During the intense heat of re-entry, hot gases penetrate the interior of the wing, destroying the support structure and causing the rest of the shuttle to break down.

A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 5

a)  What could be the closest meaning for ‘ill-fated’ in the second paragraph?

i. Sinister fate ii. Miserable iii. Unfortunate iv. Unlucky

b)  The word ‘mission’ in the first paragraph refers to —

i. journey ii. exploration iii. delegation iv. Expedition

c)  ‘Experiment’ in the second paragraph could be replaced by — (i) test (ii) prove (iii) research (iv) examine

d)  Chawla met with the accident only — minutes prior to her scheduled landing. i. 15 ii. 16 iii. 30 iv. 25

e)  The best synonym of ‘fatal’ is —

i. pretty easy ii. pleasant iii. dreadful iv. difficult

B.  Answer the following questions 10

a)  What, according to the text, is STS 107?

b)  Mention the reasons of Columbia disaster?

c)  Why is Kalpana Chawla along with other six crews said to be ill- fated?

d)  How do you differentiate Chawla from other ordinary women?

e)  ‘Chawla was responsible for her death.’ Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Give reasons.

1.A: Ans.

(a) (iv) Unlucky (b) (ii) exploration (c) (i) test (d) (ii) 16 (e) (iii) dreadful.

1.B: Ans.

a)  STS 107 was the name of a space mission. Chawla took part in this mission. It was her second and last mission.

b)   The ominious space shuttle Columbia met with a fatal disaster due to technical fault. One of its wings was damaged due to a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeling off during  the launch.

c)  Kalpana Chawla along with other six crews is said to be ill-fated because they met with death. They died only 16 minutes before their schedule landing.

d)  Chawla was not an ordinary woman. She was different from other ordinary woman for having an indomitable spirit. She had the audacity to travel in the outer-space.

e)   I disagree with this statement. Firstly, I think that fate was not in her favour. After that, the technical fault was the major fact.

Passage-3

3. Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.

Beauty is easy to appreciate but difficult to define. As we look around, we discover beauty in pleasurable objects and sights – in nature, in the laughter of children, in the kindness of strangers. But asked to define, we run into difficulties. Does beauty have an independent objective identity? Is it universal, or is it dependent on our sense perceptions? Does it lie in the eye of the beholder? -we ask ourselves. A further difficulty arises when beauty manifests itself not only by its presence, but by its absence as well, as when we are repulsed by ugliness and desire beauty. But then ugliness has as much a place in our lives as beauty, or may be more-as when there is widespread hunger and injustice in a society. Philosophers  have told us that beauty is an important part of life, but isn’t ugliness a part of life too? And if art has beauty as an important ingredient, can it confine itself only to a projection of beauty? Can art ignore what is not beautiful?

Poets and artists have provided an answer by incorporating both into their work. In doing so, they have often tied beauty to truth and justice, so that what is not beautiful assumes a tolerable proportion as something that represents some truth about life. John Keats, the romantic poet, wrote in his celebrated ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ by which he means that truth, even if it’s not pleasant, becomes beautiful at a higher level. Similarly, what is beautiful forever remains true. Another meaning, in the context of the Grecian Urn-an art object-is that truth is a condition of art.

Poetry in every language celebrates beauty and truth. So does art. Here are two poems from two different times that present some enduring ideas about beauty and truth. The poems are by Lord Byron (1788-1824), an English poet of the Romantic tradition, and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), an American poet who wrote about the human scene, love and death.

A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1´5=5

(a)     Which of the following has the closest meaning of the word “pleasurable”?

(i) dissatisfaction   (ii) pain             (iii) offend         (iv) delightful

(b)     What is the closest meaning of the word “incorporate”?

(i) embody (ii) corporation (iii) incorporeal (iv) intangible

(c)     ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is written by ——-.

(i) Lord Byron         (ii) John Keats (iii) Wordsworth (iv) PB Shelly

(d)                  What does the word ‘tolerable’ mean?

(i) not so good                    (ii) bad              (iii) moderately good    (iv) tolerant

(e)     Lord Byron is a ——– poet?

(i)     Revolutionary (ii) Romantic (iii) Classical (iv) Modern

 Answer the following questions. 2´5=10

(a)     How can we discover beauty in our surroundings?

(b)     How much place does ugliness have in our life?

(c)     What is the name of the poet of “Ode and a Grecian Urn”?

(d)     Do you get any definition of beauty from the poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’?

(e)     What was Byron’s intention?

Passage-4

1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.

Chawla was born in Karnal, India. She completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School, Karnal. She is the first Indian-born woman and the second person in space from this sub-continent. After graduating in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, in 1982, Chawla moved to the United States the same year. She obtained her Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in 1984. Later she did her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado.

Determined to become an astronaut even in the face of the Challenger disaster 1986 that broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members, Chawla joined NASA in 1988. She began working as a Vice President where she did Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) research on vertical take-off and landing. In 1991 she got U.S citizenship and started her career as a NASA astronaut in 1995. She was selected for her first flight in 1996. She spoke the following words while travelling in the weightlessness of space, "You are just your intelligence." She had travelled 10.67 million miles, as many as 252 times around the Earth.

Her first space mission (Mission STS 87) began on 19 November 1997 with six other astronauts on the Space Shuttle Columbia. On her first mission that lasted for 15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes and 4 seconds, she travelled 6.5 million miles. She was responsible for deploying the Spartan Satellite which however malfunctioned, necessitating a spacewalk by Winston Scott and Tako Doi, two of her fellow astronauts, to retrieve the satellite.

In 2000 she was selected for her second space mission STS 107. This mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems. On 16 January 2003, Kalpana Chawla finally started her new mission with six other space crew on the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia. She was one of the mission specialists. Chawla's responsibilities included the microgravity experiments, for which the crew conducted nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety.

After a 16 day scientific mission in space, on 1 February 2003, Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. All the crew in Columbia including Chawla died only 16 minutes prior to their scheduled landing. Investigation shows that this fatal accident happened due to a damage in one of Columbia's wings caused by a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeling off during the launch. During the intense heat of re-entry, hot gasses penetrated the interior of the wing, destroying the support structure and causing the rest of the shuttle to break down.

A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1☓5 = 5

(a) Chawla graduated in —.

 (i) 1985 (ii) 1982 (iii) 1983 (iv) 1972

(b) In — Chawla moved to the United States.

 (i) 1982 (ii) 1992 (iii) 1980 (iv) 1983

(c) After — of going to the United States, she obtained her master's degree.

 (i) one year (ii) three years (iii) two years (iv) four years

(d) Kalpana Chawla started her career as —.

 (i) an engineer in NASA  (ii) a pilot 

 (iii) a Vice President in NASA (iv) an astronaut

(e) The word 'disaster' means —.

 (i) accident (ii) ruin (iii) trouble (iv) creation

(f) The word 'crew' refers to —.

 (i) organization (ii) set (iii) workers (iv) lot

(g) 'Her first space mission began on 19 November 1997' here the closest meaning of the underlined word is —.

 (i) job (ii) assignment (iii) business (iv) campaign

(h) Chawla's first mission ended on —.

 (i) 19 November 1997 (ii) 31 November 1997 (iii) 4 December 1998 (iv) 4 December 1997

(i) "She was responsible for deploying the Spartan Satellite —" here 'deploying' means —.

 (i) arrange (ii) cancelling (iii) setting up (iv) disposing

(j) Which is the closest meaning of the word 'malfunction'?

 (i) perfection (ii) wrong (iii) breakdown (iv) slip

(k) 'Retrieve' means —.

 (i) reunite (ii) refund (iii) recover (iv) dispose

(l) After — of her fist mission, Kalpana started her second mission.

 (i) 4 years (ii) 3 years (iii) 7 years (iv) 5 years

(m) ".......Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its reentry into the earth's atmosphere. Here the closest meaning of the underlined word is —.

 (i) corrupt (ii) break down (iii) mould (iv) rot

(n) The word 'intense' means —.

 (i) mild (ii) acute (iii) major (iv) moderate

(o) — died by the disintegration of Columbia.

 (i) 6 people (ii) 9 people (iii) 6 men (iv) 7 people

(p) What does the phrase 'take off' mean?

 (i) imitate (ii) accept (iii) depart (iv) acquire

(q) On her first space mission Kalpana Chawla travelled -.

 (i) 6 million miles (ii) 6.5 million miles (iii) 7 million miles (iv) 7.5 million miles

(r) What does the word 'ill-fated' mean?

 (i) fortunate (ii) lucky (iii) miser (iv) unlucky

(s) What is the closest meaning of 'peeling off'?

 (i) moderate (ii) to remove something (iii) to fix (iv) light

(t) "You are just your intelligence."- What does it mean?

 (i) she was as good as her intelligence (ii) she was very intelligent

 (iii) she was not less intelligent (iv) all of the above statements

(u) Chawla was born in Karnal, —.

 (i) Pakistan (ii) South Africa (iii) India (iv) Middle East

(v) She did her Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering in 1988 from the University of —.

 (i) Texas (ii) Colorado (iii) New York (iv) Dallas

Answer (A): 

(a) (ii) 1982 (b) (i) 1982 (c) (iii) two years (d) (iii) a Vice President in NASA (e) (i) accident (f) (iii) workers (g) (ii) assignment (h) (iv) 4 December 1997 (i) (iii) setting up (j) (iii) breakdown (k) (iii) recover (l) (iv) 5 years (m) (ii) break down (n) (ii) acute (o) (iv) 7 people (p) (iii) depart (q) (ii) 6.5 million miles (r) (iv) unlucky (s) (ii) to remove something (t) (i) she was as good as her intelligence (u) (iii) India (v) (ii) Colorado

B. Answer the following questions. 2☓5 = 10

(a) What do you know about Kalpana's education?

(b) How did Chawla join NASA?

(c) What did Chawla do at NASA when she first joined there?

(d) Why was Columbia disintegrated?

(e) What happened in 2000?

(f) What do you know about Kalpana Chawla?

(g) What do you know about Kalpana Chawla's first space mission?

(h) When did she make her second space mission and what was the result?

(i) What was she determined to become and how?

(j) What is Columbia? What has happened to it?

(k) Where was Kalpana Chawla born? Where did she complete her early education?

(l) What do you know about Kalpana Chawla's second space mission?

(m) Who was Kalpana Chawla? When did she start her career as a NASA astronaut?

Answer (B): 

(a) Kalpana Chawla did her schooling from Tagore Baal Niketan. She completed her graduation from Punjab Engineering College, India on Aeronautical Engineering in 1982. She did both her Master's and Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from University of Texas and University of Colaroda.

(b) In 1988 Chawla joined NASA as Vice President to do Computational Fluid Dynamics research on vertical take-off and landing. Later in 1995 she started her career as a NASA astronaut.

(c) In 1988 Chawla joined NASA as a Vice president. There she did Computational Fluid Dynamics research on Vertical take-off and landing.

(d) Columbia was disintegrated due to damage in one of its wings caused by a piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank peeling off during the launch. During the intense heat of re-entry, hot gasses penetrated the interior of the wing, destroying the support structure and causing the rest of the shuttle to breakdown.

(e) In 2000, Kalpana Chawla was selected for her second space mission STS 107. But the mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems.

(f) Kalpana Chawla is the first Indian-born woman and the second person in space from this sub-continent. After completing her graduation in Aeronautical Engineering, she went to the USA and did her Master's degree and Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering.

(g) Her first space mission called STS87 was launched in 1997. Six other astronauts accompanied her on the Space Shuttle Columbia. It lasted for 15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes and 4 seconds and she travelled 6.5 million miles.

(h) She made her second space mission named STS107 in the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. But after 16 days in space, Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere and all the crew including Chawla died.

(i) She was determined to become an astronaut and so she studied in Aeronautical Engineering and did Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering. Then she joined NASA and later began working as a NASA astronaut.

(j) Columbia is the name of a Space Shuttle which Kalpana Chawla used in her space mission STS87 and STS107. But unfortunately it disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere killing all the crew including Kalpana Chawla.

বাংলা অনুবাদঃ 

চাওলা ভারতের কারনালে জন্মগ্রহণ করেন। সে কারনালের ট্যাগোর বাল নিকেতন সিনিয়র স্কুলে প্রাথমিক শিক্ষা সম্পন্ন করেন। তিনি হচ্ছেন ভারতে জন্মগ্রহণকারী প্রথম মহিলা এবং এই উপমহাদেশ থেকে মহাকাশভ্রমণকারী নারীদের মধ্যে দ্বিতীয়। ১৯৮২ সালে ভারতের পাঞ্জাব ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং কলেজ থেকে অ্যারোনটিক্ল্ ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং থেকে স্নাতক পাস করার পর, চাওলা একই বছর যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে চলে যান। ১৯৮৪ সালে টেক্সাস ইউনিভার্সিটি থেকে তিনি অ্যারোস্পেস ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং এর উপর স্নাতকোত্তর ডিগ্রী অর্জন করেন। পরবর্তীতে তিনি ১৯৮৮ সালে কলোরাডো বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে মহাকাশযান প্রকৌশল বিদ্যার উপর পি.এইচ.ডি. ডিগ্রী অর্জন করেন।

১৯৮৬ সালে চ্যালেঞ্জার এর দুর্যোগের সময় ৭৩ সেকেন্ডে ফ্লাইটটি ভেঙে যাওয়ার পর, এর সাতজন বৈমানিকের মৃত্যুর পর, চাওলা ১৯৮৮ সালে নাসায় যোগদান করে। তিনি একজন ভাইস প্রেসিডেন্ট হিসাবে কাজ করেন যেখানে তিনি লম্বালম্বিভাবে উড্ডয়ন এবং অবতরণের উপর কম্পিউটেশান্ল ফ্লুইড ডিনামাকস গবেষণা করেন। ১৯৯১ সালে তিনি যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের নাগরিকত্ব লাভ করেন এবং ১৯৯৫ সালে নাসার একজন নভোচারী হিসাবে চাকরিজীবন শুরু করেন। ১৯৯৬ সালে তাকে প্রথম ফ্লাইটের জন্য নির্বাচন করা হয়। ওজনহীন মহাকাশযানে ভ্রমণের সময় তিনি বলেন “তোমার বুদ্ধিমত্তাই হচ্ছে তুমি”। তিনি ১০.৬৭ মিলিয়ন মাইল ভ্রমণ করেন, যা পৃথিবীর চারিদিকে ২৫২ বার ঘুরে আসার সমান।

তার প্রথম মহাকাশ অভিযান (মিশন STS ৮৭) শুরু হয়েছিল ১৯৯৭ সালের ১৯ নভেম্বর অন্য ছয়জন নভোচারীর সাথে মহাকাশযান কলম্বিয়ায়। তার প্রথম অভিযানে তিনি ১৫ দিন, ১৬ ঘণ্টা, ৩৪ মিনিট এবং ৪ সেকেন্ড, ৬.৫ মিলিয়ন মাইল ভ্রমণ করে। তাকে স্পাটানন স্যাটেলাইট চালনার জন্য নিয়োগ করা হয় যা অবশ্য অকেজো হয়ে পড়েছিল, তার দুইজন সহকারী নভোচারী উইনসটন স্কট এবং টাকো দুই এর সাহায্যের প্রয়োজন হয়েছিল স্যাটেলাইট উদ্ধারের জন্য।

২০০০ সালে তাকে দ্বিতীয় মহাকাশ অভিযান এসটিএস ১০৭ এর জন্য বাছাই করা হয়। এই মিশনটি বার বার বিলম্বিত হয়েছিল সিডিউল বিপর্যয় এবং যান্ত্রিক সমস্যার কারণে। ২০০৩ সালের ১৬ জানুয়ারি, কল্পনা চাওলা অবশেষে তার নতুন অভিযান শুরু করেছিল অন্য ছয়জন মহাকাশ নাবিক এর সাথে মহাকাশযান কলম্বিয়ার মাধ্যমে যা দুর্ভাগ্যের শিকার হয়েছিল। তিনি ছিলেন অভিযান বিশেষজ্ঞদের মধ্যে অন্যতম। চাওলার দায়িত্বসমূহের মধ্যে রয়েছে সুক্ষ্ম অভিকর্ষ পরীক্ষা, যে কারণে তিনি পৃথিবী এবং মহাকাশ বিজ্ঞান গবেষণার উপর প্রায় ৮০টি পরীক্ষা চালানো হয়, উন্নত প্রযুক্তিগত উন্নয়ন এবং নভোচারীদের স্বাস্থ্য ও নিরাপত্তা।

২০০৩ সালের ১ ফেব্রুয়ারি, মহাকাশে ১৬ দিন বৈজ্ঞানিক অভিযানের পর, কলম্বিয়া পৃথিবীর পরিবেশে পুনরায় প্রবেশের পর টেক্সাসের উপর এসে নানা খণ্ডে বিভক্ত হয়ে পড়ে। চাওলাসহ কলম্বিয়ার সকল নাবিক ভূ-পৃষ্ঠে অবতরণের নির্ধারিত সময়ের ১৬ মিনিট পূর্বে মৃত্যুবরণ করে। তদন্তে দেখা যায় যে, এই মর্মান্তিক দুর্ঘটনা ঘটেছিল কলম্বিয়ার একটি ডানার ত্রুটি থাকার কারণে যা যাত্রা শুরুর সময় বাইরে স্থাপিত একটি তেলের ট্যাঙ্কে অবস্থিত বিচ্ছিন্নকরণ বস্তু খুলে ফেলার সময় ঘটেছিল। পুনরায় প্রবেশের সময় প্রচন্ড তাপ থাকার কারণে, ডানার ভেতরে উত্তপ্ত গ্যাস প্রবেশ করেছিল, যা সাহায্যকারী কাঠামোকে ধ্বংস করে দিয়েছিল এবং মহাকাশযানের অবশিষ্টাংশকে ভেঙে পড়তে বাধ্য করেছিল।