K C, as she was known among her friends and colleague, was selected to be part of the crew onboard the STS-87 Columbia in 1996. This was her first space flight, a 16-day shuttle research mission, and she was a mission specialist and prime robotic arm operator.

Before the launch she said, "I never thought while pursuing my studies or doing anything else about being a woman, or a person from a small city, or a different country. I pretty much had my dreams, like anybody else and I followed them. People around me fortunately always encouraged and said, 'If that's what you want to do carry on.'"

Photograph: JSC/NASA

Remembering Kalpana | A space odyssey ends

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