My wife and I were watching the SpaceX rocket launch last week and it reminded me of a post I wrote about Kalpana Chawla. Kalpana inspires me because she is an example of making dreams come true by her thoughts. She accomplished much in her short life. Today, millions of people are inspired because Kalpana Chawla dared to dream.

I’ve always been interested in space travel. I watch every launch I can. I remember watching the first astronauts launch in the 60s and continue to watch the SpaceX launches. My first recollection of seeing Kalpana Chawla was when she was a member of mission STS-107 and was about to board the space shuttle Columbia on January 16, 2003. Kalpana stood out to me as the seven Columbia crew members were shown walking to their vehicles. She appeared too young and small to be an astronaut. How she carried herself with such confidence was what stood out to me.