Teacher in Space Project

Teacher in Space Project

The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) began as a NASA program announced by President Ronald Reagan on August 27, 1984. The goal was to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration. More than 11,000 teachers applied for the program [cite web
last =
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title = The Challenger Story: The Teacher in Space Project
work =
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url = http://www.challenger.org/teachers/history/index.cfm
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accessdate = 2007-08-14
] ; in 1985, NASA selected Christa McAuliffe to be the first teacher in space with Barbara Morgan as her backup. McAuliffe died in the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster (STS-51-L) in 1986.

After the Challenger accident, Reagan spoke on national television and assured the nation that the Teacher in Space program would continue. "We'll continue our quest in space," he said. "There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue." [cite news | first=Ronald | last=Reagan | coauthors= | title=Address to the nation on the Challenger disaster | date=1986-01-28 | publisher=Office of the President | url =http://www.reaganlibrary.com/reagan/speeches/challenger.asp | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ]

That was not to be, however. NASA eliminated the Teacher in Space project and other efforts to send private citizens to space. In the 1990s, the Teacher in Space project was replaced by the Educator Astronaut Project. Instead of training teachers for five months to be a spaceflight participant who would return to the classroom, the Educator Astronaut program required selectees to give up their teaching careers, move to Houston, and become full-time NASA employees.

Morgan was selected as a NASA Mission Specialist in January 1998, about 12 years after McAuliffe's death. She was assigned to the crew of STS-118, aboard the orbiter "Endeavour" (the orbiter that replaced "Challenger" six years after the 1986 accident) which launched on August 8, 2007. Although it was once reported that Morgan would teach some of the same lessons that McAuliffe planned to teach more than 20 years before, Associated Press reports that "Morgan has no plans to give a lesson from space." [cite news | first= | last=AP | coauthors= | title=After 22-Year Wait, Teacher Barbara Morgan Ready To Blast Off To Space Station | date=2007-08-04 | publisher=Associated Press | url =http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/03/ap/tech/main3133328.shtml | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ] Shuttle commander Scott Kelly told a journalist, "I don’t have a teacher as a crewmember. I have a crewmember who used to be a teacher." [cite news | first=Bill | last=Wolcott | coauthors= | title=Writer supports teacher in space program | date=2007-07-31 | publisher=Allied News.com | url =http://www.tonawanda-news.com/features/gnnlifestyle_story_212104624.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ]

Teachers in Space reborn

Today, the Teacher in Space project is being revived in the private sector. The development of reusable, suborbital launch vehicles by commercial companies makes it possible for nonprofit groups to contemplate sending large numbers of teachers into space. In 2005, Teacher in Space candidate Pam Leestma, a second-grade teacher and cousin of Space Shuttle astronaut David Leestma, flew a training flight aboard a MiG-21 operated by X-Rocket, LLC. [cite news | first=Edward | last=Wright | coauthors= | title=Teacher In Space Candidate Completes Proficiency Flight | date=2005-03-31 | publisher=X-rocket | url =http://www.ereleases.com/pr/20050331005.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ] In 2006, the Space Frontier Foundation announced a new project called "Teachers in Space." [cite news | first=Rick | last=Tumlinson | coauthors= | title=Teachers in Space Foundation Wants Hundreds to Fly | date=2006-04-11 | publisher=Space Frontier Foundation | url =http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2006/20060411teachersinspace.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ] The plural form indicated the greater number of teachers who might be involved. The Foundation believes that hundreds of teachers might fly in space every year and return to their classrooms to inspire the next generation.

Armadillo Aerospace, Masten Space Systems, PlanetSpace, Rocketplane Limited, Inc., and XCOR Aerospace have donated flights to the new Teachers in Space project. [cite news | first= | last=Tumlinson | coauthors= | title=Masten Space Systems Donates Rocket Ride to Teacher | date=2006-10-16 | publisher=Space Frontier Foundation | url =http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2006/20060918TISMasten.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ] [cite news | first= | last=Tumlinson | coauthors= | title=PlanetSpace Joins Teachers in Space Project | date=2006-10-16 | publisher=Space Frontier Foundation | url =http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2006/20061016TISPlanetSpace.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ] Advisors to the new Teachers in Space project include SpaceShip One builder and Ansari X-Prize winner Burt Rutan, X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and private astronaut and X-Prize sponsor Anousheh Ansari. [cite news | first= | last=Tumlinson | coauthors= | title= New Teachers In Space Program Gains Momentum | date=2006-04-21 | publisher=Space Frontier Foundation | url =http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2006/20060421teachersinspace.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ]

The Space Frontier Foundation is working with the United States Rocket Academy to draft rules for a "pathfinder" competition to select the first Teacher in Space. The rules will be announced at the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup Competition to be held at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico the weekend of October 26-28. Applications for the Teacher in Space program will be available immediately after the announcement. [cite news | first= | last=Tumlinson | coauthors= | title=Godspeed Barbara Morgan; Plans for Large Numbers of Teachers in Space | date=2007-08-08 | publisher=Space Frontier Foundation | url =http://www.space-frontier.org/PressReleases/2007/20070808barbaramorgan.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-08-13 | language = ]

References

ee also

* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=38825 President Reagan's Remarks to the Finalists in the Teacher in Space Project] (June 26, 1985)
*Educator Astronaut Project
*STS-118

External links

* [http://www.teachersinspace.org/ Official Teachers in Space project site]
* [http://www.nea.org/people/0708morgan.html Barbara Morgan-Astronaut, Teacher in Space, NEA Member]


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