Kalpana Chawla Takes Off on Her 2nd Space Voyage

Washington, Jan. 17 (NNN): India-born space engineer Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-American woman to be sent to space, embarked on her 2nd voyage on Thursday when the US space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, also taking along Colonel Ilan Ramon, an Israeli fighter pilot and six other crew members, on a mission which is to undertake a series of scientific experiments that would help develop medicines to treat several diseases, including cancer. The shuttle was launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 1039 (EST, 2119 IST) amidst a tight security cover in near perfect weather conditions.

Kalpana Chawla is on the mission led by Commander Rick Husband, a colonel in the US Air Force.

Sunita Lyn Williams (nee Pandya) is also in the elite list of short-listed astronauts and may become the second American-Indian to go into space after Chawla.

The latest Columbia flight will be the first dedicated research mission to be flown by the shuttle in almost three years. The mission would give 70 international scientists access to the microgravity environment of space, and a set of seven human researchers, for 16 uninterrupted days.

The presence of Israelīs Ilan Ramon, a 48-year-old air force colonel, who as a fighter pilot took part in several missions against Arab targets in 1973 and 1982, has overshadowed the more than 80 experiments to be carried out during the two week mission.

The launch - broadcast live by Israeli TV and radio stations - has caused great excitement around the country.

"We had deep, beautiful, blue skies and then with this smoke coming in huge bursts, it was very, very moving," the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon said, adding: "You know, these are our national colors."

Every Israeli school child will now be required to spend 25 hours of classroom time studying Ramonīs flight and also space science.

The ambassador said Ramon - whose mother was a survivor of the Nazideath camps at Auschwitz - took with him a drawing by a 14-year-old Jewish boy who perished there.

"In two generations, weīre moving from the lowest ebb, the darkest pointof our history, to a very great moment of excellence and achievement," Ayalon said.

Although Ramon is not particularly religious, as the first representative of the Jewish state in space, he said he would carry a Bible and eat only Kosher food.

His desire to keep the Sabbath on Saturday was a potential problem as the sun sets and rises several times a day in space. However, a Florida rabbi ruled he should adhere to the same time as Houston, where NASA Mission Control is based. "This is such an exciting time for us... he makes us so proud," Ayalon said.

Ramonīs wife and children were among those present for the launch.Mrs Ramon admitted to some nervousness and said she could not wait for the mission to be over, the Associated Press reported."I donīt want to talk about fear. Weīre not talking about fear. Iīm sure NASA is doing everything that is possible not to take any risk and anychances," she said. “The most calm and relaxed person is Ilan."

During the present mission, the crew members will carry out several experiments that would analyse changes that take place in human beings and proteins under zero gravity conditions.

The results of these experiments would go a long way in developing medicines to treat several diseases, including cancer.

In a pre-flight talk with reporters at the KSC, Chawla said J R D Tata, who flew the first mail flights in India, prompted her to take up aeronautics as a career. "What J R D Tata had done during those years was very intriguing and definitely captivated my imagination," she said.

Earlier, Kalpana Chawala was a member of the six-astronaut crew that flew the Columbia Flight STS-87 on November 19, 1997.

Security had been significantly stepped up since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, with fighter jets patrolling the skies and ground-to-air missile batteries deployed around the launch sites.

Columbia will carry, in its payload bay, a module, which will hold most of the missionīs more than 80 experiments -- involving more than 70 scientists world-wide -- that will investigate space, life and physical sciences.

An odd assortment of animals is also aboard Columbia, mostly from student experimenters. The menagerie includes spiders, ants, silkworms, mealworms, carpenter bees, fish embroyos and rats.

The mission is carrying a special pressurised laboratory into space for 16 days of experiments, principally on micro-gravity.

The mission is dedicated purely to scientific experimentation as the shuttle will not be ferrying any parts to the growing International Space Station (ISS).

The crew of seven will work in shifts for 24 hours each day to complete anextensive programme of tests.

However, the mission could be of great benefit to the ISS, as it will test a new technology which could enable the permanent recycling of water there.