National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft named SS Kalpana Chawla after its astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
The spacecraft was launched on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, United States (US) to deliver nearly 8,000 pounds of scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, commercial products, and other cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).
About Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to enter space and was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle in Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2003.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine.
- Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.