I miss my hero?

Question

Kalpana Chawla (indian-american astronaut ) was killed 4 years ago. And I look up to her for who she was. I know she's in a good place. I have made a video in her memory for school. Do you think she's proud of me for making the video? She's alive in my heart. I had a dream that she told me to walk in her shoes. Does she want me to be an astronaut? or work for NASA?

Answer 1

Everyone wants to be remembered and a scientist’s live is useless unless they have made a difference. Since she has inspired you and many others and because of the work she did her life had a very important meaning and significance. I am proud of you for making the video of your hero. It is a good way to be remembered, her brother (Sanjay Chawla) would like to see it I bet.

Becoming an astronaut is very difficult the standards are high; it would be much easier to become an astronomer and try to contribute there. Of course there is no reason why you can’t do both. There are two paths to becoming an astronaut; joining the Navy or the Air Force and trying to join the program as a crew member or pilot, or becoming a scientists and going on a mission as a payload or mission specialist. The best astronaut candidates take both paths.

I agree 100% with Jason M. and have a few suggestions on how you can start.

If you want to follow in her footsteps then a college degree (she had 4) is the first place to start. Her road to being a pilot made her a natural candidate for the space program, not to fly the shuttle, but because she knew flying she knew what to expect. The closest you can get to space is flying and an amateur pilot knows what to expect and how to avoid getting air sick. She had to be super intelligent and determined to make it as far in school as she did, so you need to show that same determination to succeed. You may not make it to the astronaut core, but you won’t be a failure for trying. You may not get as many degrees as she held, that was an expensive and long course to take, but NASA is looking for that kind of dedication.

My father was a safety engineer for Boeing and worked with NASA from every program from Apollo to Sky Lab, to the Space Shuttle, to the Space Station. There is a plague on the moon with his name on it. There are hundreds of others there as well, those who made great contributions to the space program. I am very proud of that accomplishment. While I may have gotten no where near what he did, if you read my last 20 answers you will see that I share his interests and have made small contribution to educating people about space, astronomy and physics. Contribute in what ever way you can. I know that my father’s contributions helped to create the entire space program. He never made it into space, and he wasn’t a famous person, but he did his bit and I am very proud of that. I would like to think that my attempt to educate people is something that he could have been proud of. I am disabled and I can’t work, so I can’t match his contributions, but in my small way I have tried to spread the knowledge he helped gain.

She started her course in the aerospace field and by being a pilot, so that is where I would start. She got an amateur radio license to make herself more valuable as a pilot. It was just one of thousands of considerations that made her someone who had the “right stuff.” Those are three goals that you can start working on now. You only need a ham radio to start learning radio; you will need to learn Morse code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code). Pilots have started as young as 7, so you can try that course. Even if you can’t fly a plane, pilots practice and learn on flight simulators. Microsoft makes and excellent one that will let you simulate anything from a passenger jet to a single engine airplane. Every journey starts with a single step. Those are some simple steps that could put you on her path, no matter what your age. Read this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot%27s_license and you will get an idea on how to start learning to be a pilot; your first goal is your sport pilot’s license (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_pilot_certificate).

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla
"Kalpana Chawla studied aeronautical engineering at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh, India, in 1982 where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. She was one of the three women in the college at the time. She moved to the United States in 1982 and obtained a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (1984). Chawla earned a second Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1986 and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Later that year she began working for NASA Ames Research Center. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for airplanes, gliders and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multiengine airplanes, seaplanes and gliders. She held an FCC issued Technician Class Amateur Radio license with the call sign KD5ESI. Kalpana Chawla married Jean-Pierre Harrison in 1983 and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1990."

"Her brother, Sanjay Chawla, remarked "To me, my sister is not dead. She is immortal. Isn't that what a star is? She is a permanent star in the sky. She will always be up there where she belongs."

Answer 2

What matters is what YOU want to do with your life. It is good to have people to admire and look up to but you should be careful about placing them on a pedistal. The reality will always dissapoint you, and in truth it takes their humanity away from them at a very fundamental level.

The world always needs more explorers. It's a fine choice and I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 3

This is a difficult question to answer, but what is most important is what you wish to do. It sounds like your subconscience would like you to be involved in space exploration. If you have the drive, it will happen, but it all hinges on you.
I wish you great success!