Chawla completed her earlier schooling at Tagore Baal Niketan Sr. Sec. School,
Karnal. She completed Bachelor of Engineering degree in Aeronautical Engineering at Punjab Engineering College at Chandigarh in 1982. She moved to the United States in 1982 and obtained an M.S. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984. Chawla went on to earn a second M.S. degree in 1986 and a PhD in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Later that year she began working at the NASA Ames Research Center as vice president of Overset Methods, Inc. where she did CFD research on Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing concepts. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for airplanes, gliders and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes and gliders.
KALPANA CHAWLA HALL (KC HALL)
Kalpana Chawla Hall, called KC Hall by all its residents, is a lively co-educational residential facility that houses 419 students in a variety of educationally themed Learning Communities with a staff of a Residence Director, Graduate Assistant Residence Director, Resident Assistants, Office Assistant, and Peer Academic Leaders (PALs) that act as live-in educational mentors for the residents of the hall.
KC Hall is the newest of UT Arlington's residence halls built in 2004. KC Hall combines a strong commitment to academic excellence with an equally strong devotion to providing a fun and active environment. It is also conveniently located on campus close to the Business Building, Pickard Hall, University College, the E.H. Hereford University Center, and the Physics Chemistry Building.
Whether you have already picked your major or are still undecided, you will find KC Hall to be a unique environment to explore and develop your personal and academic interests. KC Hall houses UT Arlington's first Living Learning program, which is an integrated academic environment designed to provide maximum support for academic achievement and opportunities for new discoveries. Here you will find a staff that is dedicated to helping you achieve all of your goals and making your stay with us as comfortable, fun, and exciting as possible. Additionally, with one of the most diverse student bodies on campus, KC Hall is a caring, inclusive community in which anyone can feel comfortable and supported.
Chawla joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in March 1995 and was selected for her first flight in 1996. She spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, "You are just your intelligence". She had traveled 10.67 million km, as many as 252 times around the Earth.
Her first space mission began on November 19, 1997 as part of the six-astronaut crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first Indian-born woman and the second Indian person to fly in space, following cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma who flew in 1984 in a spacecraft. On her first mission, Chawla traveled over 10.4 million miles in 252 orbits of the earth, logging more than 372 hours in space. During STS-87, she was responsible for deploying the Spartan Satellite which malfunctioned, necessitating a spacewalk by Winston Scott and Takao Doi to capture the satellite. A five-month NASA investigation fully exonerated Chawla by identifying errors in software interfaces and the defined procedures of flight crew and ground control.
After the completion of STS-87 post-flight activities, Chawla was assigned to technical positions in the astronaut office to work on the space station, her performance in which was recognized with a special award from her peers.
In 2000 she was selected for her second flight as part of the crew of STS-107. This mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems such as the July 2002 discovery of cracks in the shuttle engine flow liners. On January 16, 2003, Chawla finally returned to space aboard Columbia on the ill-fated STS-107 mission. Chawla's responsibilities included the microgravity experiments, for which the crew conducted nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety.
Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, with the loss of all seven crew members, shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.
Kalpana Chawla History
Named after Kalpana Chawla who was a proud UT Arlington Alumna and astronaut crew member aboard the Columbia space shuttle sadly destroyed over North Texas in February of 2003. Two unique features to this community are the KC Remembrance Wall that tells the story of Kalpanas’ extraordinary life story and the buildings Time Capsule to be opened in 2034.
KC Hall is not just a place to sleep and study. It also offers a host of ways to get involved. From working with our Hall Council or RHA program to competing against the rest of the campus as part of one of our intramural teams and participating in hall programs, KC Hall offers something for everyone.
Room Type
KC Hall offers two room types to fit your preferences and price ranges. Most of the rooms in KC Hall are Private Suites. These rooms include three single bedrooms and a shared living room and bathroom area. The other room type is a Double Room, which is one bedroom and bathroom that two residents share.
Room Features
All bedrooms in KC Hall include a twin extra-long bed, a desk and chair, a chest of drawers and a closet. The common spaces in the Private Suites include a couch, a chair, a coffee table, and one end table.
Hall Staff & Involvement
The facilities, staff, and residents of KC Hall are second to none, and no other hall can offer the wide range of services that you will find here. With spacious study lounges featuring adjacent computer labs on each floor and our beautiful Great Room and Courtyard, there is plenty of space for students to relax and hang out with friends. Our Great Room boasts a pool table, a foosball table, a ping pong table, a full community kitchen, and a big screen TV. We also have games, cookware, vacuum cleaners, and sports equipment free for checkout from the Hall Office.
Residence hall living can be one of the best parts of your college experience, so it is highly recommended that residents take advantage of all that Kalpana Chawla has to offer to those who want to get involved. From working with our Hall Council or Residence Hall Association (RHA), to playing on one of our intramural teams and participating in hall programs, Kalpana Chawla offers something for everyone.
Want to get the most out of your time at KC Hall? Find out about all the advantages of joining a Freshman Interest Group.
HOW TO APPLY
If you are interested in living here, you can apply online after you have applied to the University. The online application is free and will require your University ID number and NetID. For tour information please visit ourCampus Visitors page on our website for more information.
For rate information, please see Residence Hall Rates