To reach for the stars is the dream of millions but there are very few who are able to realise it. Kalpana Chawla, India's first woman astronaut, was one individual who possessed the necessary grit, determination and courage to make this dream possible.

Kalpana Chawla's untimely death on February 1, 2003,has left a void in the world of space exploration.

Dilip M. Salwi is a Delhi-based science writer. A winner of several national awards and fellowships for popularising science, he also writes science fiction and plays involving science and scientists