Sombeech
08-01-2007, 10:08 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070801/tc_usatoday/21yearsafterchallengerateachergetshershot
By age 33, Barbara Morgan had taught school on an Indian reservation in the Rockies and in Ecuador's capital in the Andes. That did not quiet her longing for a classroom higher in the sky.
"I want to go on the space shuttle," Morgan wrote to NASA in 1985, applying to be the first teacher in orbit. "I want to get some stardust on me."
Her enthusiasm impressed NASA, but it picked high school teacher Christa McAuliffe instead, and Morgan as her backup. McAuliffe never made it to orbit: On Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded just after liftoff, killing McAuliffe and six crewmates.
Next week, Morgan, now 55, finally gets her chance at some stardust. On Tuesday, she is scheduled to blast off on her first spaceflight - and America's first effort since Challenger to put a teacher in orbit.
By age 33, Barbara Morgan had taught school on an Indian reservation in the Rockies and in Ecuador's capital in the Andes. That did not quiet her longing for a classroom higher in the sky.
"I want to go on the space shuttle," Morgan wrote to NASA in 1985, applying to be the first teacher in orbit. "I want to get some stardust on me."
Her enthusiasm impressed NASA, but it picked high school teacher Christa McAuliffe instead, and Morgan as her backup. McAuliffe never made it to orbit: On Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded just after liftoff, killing McAuliffe and six crewmates.
Next week, Morgan, now 55, finally gets her chance at some stardust. On Tuesday, she is scheduled to blast off on her first spaceflight - and America's first effort since Challenger to put a teacher in orbit.