Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501310051
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON LENGTH: Medium
All she needs is the chance.
Barbara Morgan is the designated teacher-in-space, should NASA decide to revive the program that was halted after the shuttle Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe and her six crew mates.
Morgan, who trained as McAuliffe's backup and has made thousands of appearances on behalf of NASA since the explosion, said her space voyage is long overdue.
``It's very important for teachers and students in this country that this happens,'' Morgan said by telephone recently from McCall-Donnelly Elementary School, where she teaches in southwestern Idaho. ``This is a way to highlight the good things that are going on in the schools. It gets the public involved in education.
``I also think it's important for us to make commitments and stick to them,'' she said. ``I can't tell you how many times a day I get asked ... `When's this going to happen?' I tell them I don't know. I hope it does happen.''
Morgan, 43, may not have to wonder much longer.
Top NASA officials, who periodically have discussed restarting the program, again are talking about assigning Morgan to a shuttle flight.
NASA administrator Daniel Goldin appointed a committee to explore the possibility last summer. Alan Ladwig, the agency's associate administrator for policy and plans, said the group is preparing its recommendation for Goldin.
Some NASA officials, including Ladwig, have expressed a desire to restart the program, first announced by President Reagan in 1984.
The committee must decide if a teacher can be accommodated within a NASA policy allowing only ``mission-critical personnel'' aboard the shuttle. The policy went into effect after the Challenger crash.
Former NASA administrator James Beggs said the program came from a desire to foster science and technology education.
``The more we thought about it, the more we thought it was a good idea,'' Beggs said from his Virginia office.
``Kids have an intense interest in space and we thought a teacher would bring the experience home to them better than anyone. The teacher could come back ... and relate his or her experiences.''
by CNB