US Spacecraft named after late Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla

In a view to honor the contribution made by fallen Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla, a commercial cargo flight bound for International  Space  Station has been named after her.

Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defense technology company has announced the news and named its next  Cygnus capsule as “S.S. Kalpana Chawla”.

The company said in a tweet on Wednesday.”Today we honor Kalpana Chawla, who made history at @NASA as the first female astronaut of Indian descent. Her contributions to human spaceflight have had a lasting impact,”

“Northrop Grumman is proud to name the NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft after former astronaut Kalpana Chawla. It is the company’s tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight,” the company said on its website.