NASA named spacecraft after late Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has named a spacecraft after the late astronaut of Indian origin, Kalpana Chawla. The new spacecraft, which is to be launched into space soon, has been named SS Kalpana Chawla.

NASA named the Cygnus spacecraft after the late NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla and revealed this news via Twitter. The Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed as the SS Kalpana Chawla, was supposed to lift off today.

In its tweet, NASA stated, “As has become a custom for the Northrop Grumman, each Cygnus resupply craft is named after a historic space explorer. The spacecraft being launched tonight is named after one of our own NASA astronauts, Kalpana Chawla.”

The Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed SS Kalpana Chawla, will be launched into space as a part of the 14^th resupply mission of the NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman to the International Space Station.

SS Kalpana Chawla lift-off scrubbed

The Cygnus spacecraft, which is named after astronaut Kalpana Chawla, was supposed to be a part of the 14th resupply mission for the Northrop Grumman, and the lift-off was scheduled for October 2, 2020.

The mission of the SS Kalpana Chawla was scrubbed only 2 minutes 40 seconds before the official time of the lift-off due to some technical and equipment issues. The lift-off of the Cygnus spacecraft is now scheduled for 9:43 PM EDT.

The Antares rocket will be carrying the Cygnus spacecraft with nearly 8,000 pounds of cargo, which is scheduled to reach the International Space Station by October 4. Cygnus is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-December when it will depart the station.

Source- indiatoday