The Indian American astronaut died at the age of 40.
AB Wire
Priyanka Chopra’s career is zooming in the West with her foray into American television, with ABC’s ‘Quantico’ making her a household name. Now comes unconfirmed reports that she has been approached to play the lead role in a biopic on the late Indian American astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
Chopra, who is still busy with her films in India, and shuttles between Mumbai and Los Angeles, would be an ideal choice to play the role of Chawla, an inspirational woman who grew up in India, and settled in the US, before her demise at the age of 40.
Currently, Chopra is busy with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Bajirao Mastani’ which is slated for a December 18th release.
Chawla was the first Indian-American astronaut and first Indian woman 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.
Chawla, who was born in Karnal, Punjab, now in Haryana, completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan Senior Secondary School, Karnal and completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Punjab Engineering College at Chandigarh in 1982. She moved to the United States in 1982 where she obtained a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984.
She went on to earn a second masters degree in 1986 and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado at Boulder.