Telugu Woman Kalpana Behind Chandrayaan 3

The historic soft landing of Chandrayaan 3 on the Moon this Wednesday has opened up exciting new opportunities for space exploration and humanity as a whole. This achievement has placed India in an exclusive group of countries that have successfully landed spacecraft on Earth’s natural satellite, specifically reaching the lunar south pole. Kalpana Kalahasti who is a part of the project is trending on social media ever since, especially among the Telugu circles.

Five individuals played pivotal roles in this success, and among them is Kalpana Kalahasti, the deputy project director, who has made significant contributions to this mission. Her involvement underscores the advancement of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.

Kalpana’s roots trace back to Thaduku in Puttur mandal of Chittoor district. Her father, Muniratnam, worked as an officer in the High Court, and her mother, Indira, had an educational background. Kalpana pursued her education in Chennai, studying B.Tech in Electronics and Communication at Madras University.

Her aspiration to work at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been a childhood dream. Following the completion of her B.Tech in ECE, she immediately pursued her dream. She joined ISRO in 2000 after the careful selection process. She started her career as a radar engineer at the Space Center (SHAR), named after Satish Dhawan.

After five years there, she transferred to the U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bangalore in 2005. Her responsibilities shifted towards satellite systems, and she worked as an engineer in satellite building.

As the deputy project director for the Chandrayaan 3 mission, Kalpana K meticulously oversaw the project’s intricate details and played a key role. Her dedication ensured that the mission continued despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. Her prior experience included involvement in the second lunar mission and the Mangalyaan mission.

Following the mission’s triumph, Kalpana K addressed the nation at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network, expressing, “…this will remain the most memorable moment for all of us…from the day we started rebuilding our spacecraft after the Chandrayaan 2 experience, it has been breathe in-breathe out Chandrayaan 3 for the team.”

Apart from Kalpana, the team comprised ISRO chairman S Somanath, project director Veeramuthuvel, M Sankaran, director of U R Rao Satellite Centre where the satellite was constructed, and M Srikanth, the mission director.