Young girl claims she is Kalpana Chawla. REINCARNATION?  

I don't think that is reincarnation... it may just be a hype. Reincarnation does not have scientific support nor it can be tested based on empirical evidences.

She might have heard of the name through some older people who loved kalpana chawla... kalpana chawla was a American by the way, not an Indian. She took US citizenship and so she no longer died as an Indian.

I would like you to know that illiterate families in India have no idea who Kalpana Chawla is. Secondly, reincarnation is not a hype. Just because a person cannot see or experience his past life does not mean everybody cannot. There are a lot of research being done in that area, and the more it is being researched, the more it is accepted. You can google search on reincarnation research and you will find many books that have been written on the subject.

May I point out that regardless of Kalpana's citezenship, the nation of India mourned that day. The likelihood that this girl has heard Kalpana's name is not shocking. What does shock me is when the news stories tell me that this girl fears the site of an aircraft. I strongly believe that if Kalpana had survived the crash, as soon as her wounds had healed she would've been off onto aircraft again. I have studied all the astronauts on that spacecraft for years. Also, Kalpana was a very intelligent engineer. She would not have assumed that her spacecraft had been struck by ice in a atmosphere exceeding 2200 degrees celcius. I'm aware that none of the astronauts would have know the full cause of the accident except perhaps Rick and Willie who were at the helm. I fully believe in reincarnation its just something doesn't sit right with this child being Kalpana yet. I need to know more about her.