Posted: Fri, Feb 7, 2003, 8:37 AM ET (1337 GMT)
The Indian Space Research Organization announced Thursday that it has renamed a spacecraft launched last year after the Indian-born member of the Columbia crew. Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Thursday that the Metsat-1 spacecraft would be renamed Kalpana-1 in memory of Kalpana Chawla. Metsat-1 is a weather satellite launched last September on a PSLV rocket. All future spacecraft in the Metsat series will also be named Kalpana. Chawla was born in Karnal, India and later moved to the United States, becoming a US citizen. Vajpayee also said that February 1 would in the future be a day of recognition for "space heroes" in India.

Related Links:

•  ISRO press release
•  SPACE.com article