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Montsu is the affectionate form of Kalpana Chawla's family name, Montu; the name Kalpana, meaning imagination, three-year old Montu chose for herself.
Montsu, Inc., was established by Kalpana's family after
the loss of Space Shuttle
Columbia.
Kalpana flew twice as crewmember aboard
Columbia,
on missions
STS-87
in 1997 and
STS-107
in 2003.
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Kalpana's family placed great importance on education. As a young
girl of three years old she insisted on attending school, a wish
granted by her parents. Her schooling continued unabated as she went
on to earn
Bachelor,
Master
and
Ph.D. degrees in aeronautical engineering, and afterwards as an astronaut. Education was for Kalpana not only a means to achieving her goals but a journey in itself.
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Kalpana was very concerned about the environment. She often remarked
how beautiful and fragile was the Earth from
orbit.
Kalpana loved to hike, camp, watch birds and wildlife and was distressed at their maltreatment. Her home in Houston lay beneath migratory paths and the back yard was purposely left untrimmed and provided with many feeders to attract birds during their travels. She was particularly taken with puffins seen during a 2000 trip to Scotland, especially their comical and graceless landing technique.
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Copyright © 2004 Montsu, Inc.
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