Kalpana Chawla Birth Anniversary: The world observes 58th birth anniversary of Indian-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla on March 17 this year. Kalpana Chawla the first woman of Indian-origin to space-travel. The astronaut was born on March 17, 1962. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.