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Today, Indian women are, quite literally, reaching for the stars.
India has come to a point where contributions of women across all fields are being celebrated and applauded. From being an integral part of India’s freedom struggle to taking on culinary roles beyond just their kitchens by becoming chefs, female rickshaw drivers whizzing down streets to women athletes taking India by storm, job roles are no longer as gendered as they used to be. The glass ceiling is slowly disintegrating and we are moving, albeit slowly, towards making India a country that offers equal opportunities to anyone and everyone, free of gender-based discrimination. With conversations about equal pay becoming a part of mainstream discourse, women have never before been as included in the Indian work sphere as they are today.
We, at Homegrown, put together a list of female space heroes, who you need to sit up and take notice of. These women have fought against the society’s prejudice and created a space for themselves in an industry that has historically been male-dominated — a reality most women have to experience at some point in their lives. These women have made indelible marks in the global aerospace industry and it’s about time the world lauded them.
I. Kalpana Chawla
In 1997, Kalpana Chawla became the first woman of Indian origin to travel to space. She was the mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator for the US space shuttle Columbia. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven crew members who passed away as a result of US space shuttle Columbia disintegrating just 15 minutes prior to when it was scheduled to land.
Born in Karnal, India, in 1982, Chawla received a Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh and went on to receive a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas, Arlington and a subsequent PhD in Aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Chawla who has been etched in history, was the first woman to put India on the map when it came to space, began working with NASA in 1988. Chawla’s contribution towards NASA did not go unrecognised and she has been posthumously presented the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Congressional Space Medal of honour.
Chawla will always be India’s first ‘first lady of space.’
II. Sunita Williams
Sunita Williams, following in Chawla’s footsteps, became the second woman of Indian origin to travel to space. The half-Indian and half-Slovenian astronaut took her first flight in 2006 and spent 195 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). She also served as a flight engineer for ISS in 2012. In 2015 Williams was one of four astronauts chosen to be the first to test flights in NASA’s Commercial Crew program, which involved testing two new space crafts SpaceX’s Dragon and Boeing’s. The flights with respect to the new spacecrafts are said to be scheduled for 2019.
In a candid interview with Conde Nast Traveller, Williams said “Space programs are a bit of a luxury and a bit of a necessity. I’m glad India is at the point where a space program is financially feasible. It’s also a necessity because it’s the next frontier of exploration. It’s part of what humans want to do—we want to explore. I hope we all have a great deal of cooperation while working on these programs. When India sent Chandrayaan to the moon, the United States had a piece of experiment on it, which we are using to map the moon to help the next spacecraft to potentially land. The main goal of the International Space Station is to work on peaceful projects. In space, we’re all people from Earth.”
This powerhouse of a woman might intimidate some with her achievements, but there is one thing that makes her as relatable as can be — her food cravings in space? India’s favorite food to snack on — good ol’ samosas.
III. Anuradha TK
Anuradha TK, a Geosat Programme Director at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Satellite Centre is one scientist to look out for. The senior-most woman officer at ISRO, TK has worked with the organisation for 34 years now. Her earliest space-related memory is from the historic moon landing. “It was the Apollo launch, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. We had no television in those days, so I heard about it from my parents and teachers. It really ignited the imagination. I wrote a poem on a man landing on the moon in Kannada, my native language,” recalls TK.
Her aversion to rote learning is what sparked her interest towards science, and this interests soon turned into a love for the subject and in 1982, TK found herself working at ISRO. TK’s area of expertise is to do with sending communication satellites into space.
A role model for not just female scientists, but women across fields and varied walks of life, TK believes that it is imperative to do away with myths that bracket science as a field better suited for men. “In my batch, five-six women engineers joined ISRO. We stood out and everyone knew us. Today, more than 20-25% of ISRO’s over 16,000 employees are women and fortunately it isn’t something unusual anymore. Sometimes I say that I forget that I’m a woman here. You don’t get any special treatment because you’re a woman, you’re also not discriminated against because you’re a woman. You’re treated as an equal here. Once girls see that there are lots of women in the space programme, they also get motivated, they think if she can do it, so can they,” said TK while talking to BBC about ISRO’s inclusive work environment and how women have always been indispensable contributors to the field of science.
For all the women looking to make it big, TK has one piece of advice — “Unfortunately, we are still carrying cultural loads on our backs and many women think their priorities lie elsewhere, that is, at home. You have to give something to get something. But life is like that. So when there was work to do, when I was needed at the office, I was here, working with passion. And when there was an absolute need for me to be at home, I was there. Basically, balance it out and make arrangements.”
IV. Ritu Karidhal
Having been referred to as the “Rocket Woman” of India, Ritu Karidhal is presently a scientist at ISRO. Karidhal, who has worked on multiple ISRO projects as an operations director, is famous for her contribution to Mangalyaan, India’s Mars orbiter mission as the Deputy Operations Director. The mission started its operations in April 2012, with a very small window of 18 months. “It was a very small window, so the big challenge was to realise the project in that time. We had no heritage of interplanetary missions, so we had a lot to do in that short period. We used to sit with the engineers, everyone would brainstorm, irrespective of the time, we often worked the weekends,” said Karidhal while reminiscing about the Mars orbiter mission in an interview with BBC.
Once a little girl who would star gaze and collect newspaper clippings about NASA and ISRO projects, Karidhal refuses to settle for anything but greatness. “Mars mission was an achievement, but we need to do a lot more. The country needs a lot more from us so that the benefit reaches the last man,” signs off Karidhal.
V. Nandini Harinath
Currently a scientist at ISRO’s Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, Nandini Harinath was one of the Deputy Operations Director for the Mars orbiter mission. Her fascination with science began when she and her parents would huddle up to watch Star Trek. Her father, who was an engineer, her mother, who taught maths, and little Nandini, together was a family in love with physics and all things science fiction. Having science as an integral part of her life since her early years and with her inclination towards the subject, it does not come as a surprise that Harinath landed a job at ISRO quite effortlessly. “It was the first job I applied for and I got through. It’s been 20 years now and there’s been no looking back,” said Harinath while speaking with the BBC.
“During the launch, I don’t think we went home at all. We’d come in the morning, spend the day and night, probably go home for a short time the next afternoon to eat and sleep for a few hours and come back. But for an important mission like that which is time bound, we needed to work like that. We spent many sleepless nights. We encountered lots of problems as we progressed, in the design as well as in the mission. But it was coming up with quick solutions, innovation that was brought in, that was key,” said Harinath when asked about what it was like working on the Mars orbiter mission.
Harinath’s pride is extremely evident and almost infectious when she talks about the success of the project. “It was very important for India, not just for ISRO. It’s put us on a different pedestal. Foreign countries are looking at us for collaborations and the importance and attention we got was justified. It was also the first time Isro allowed the public to look at what was happening inside, we were on social media, we had our own Facebook page, and the world took notice. I feel proud of our achievement. Sometimes, I feel honoured and flattered, but sometimes I’m also embarrassed. The way people look at you, it’s very different. People recognise you for being a scientist and I’m enjoying it thoroughly,” said Harinath.
Just like Karidhal, Harinath too believes that this is just the beginning of India’s journey towards conquering space, and her 20-year long career has not slowed her down, but only made her better armed for all the amazing things in store for her.
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