The
Teacher in Space Project (
TISP) began as a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
program announced by President
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
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; in 1985, NASA selected
Christa McAuliffeSharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe née Sharon Christa Corrigan, was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster...
to be the first teacher in space with
Barbara MorganBarbara Radding "Barb" Morgan is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She also participated in the Teacher in Space program as the backup to Christa McAuliffe for the ill-fated STS-51L mission of Space Shuttle Challenger. She then trained as a Mission Specialist, and flew on STS-118 in...
as her backup. McAuliffe died in the
Space Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States, at 11:39...
(
STS-51-LSTS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time a civilian had flown aboard the Space Shuttle...
) 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."
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 ProjectThe Educator Astronaut Project is a NASA program designed to educate students and spur excitement in math, science, and space exploration. It is a successor to the Teacher in Space Project of the 1980s that was cancelled after Christa McAuliffe died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster...
. 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, 12 years after McAuliffe's death. She was assigned to the crew of
STS-118STS-118 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-118 successfully lifted off on August 8, 2007 from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center , Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on August 21, 2007.It was the first...
, aboard the orbiter
EndeavourSpace Shuttle Endeavour is one of three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour is the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
(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." 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."
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 LeestmaDavid Cornell Leestma is an American astronaut.-Personal data:Born May 6, 1949, in Muskegon, Michigan. Married to the former Patti K. Opp of Dallas, Texas. They have six children. He enjoys golfing, tennis, aviation, and fishing. His parents, Dr. and Mrs. Harold F. Leestma, reside in Palm Desert,...
, flew a training flight aboard a MiG-21 operated by X-Rocket, LLC. In 2006, the Space Frontier Foundation announced a new project called "Teachers in Space." 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 AerospaceArmadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight...
,
Masten Space SystemsMasten Space Systems is an aerospace startup company in Mojave, California that is developing a line of Vertical Take-Off and Landing spacecraft for both unmanned research applications and eventually manned suborbital flight.- Overview :Masten Space Systems is a Mojave, California based rocket...
,
PlanetSpacePlanetSpace is a privately funded Chicago-based rocket and space travel project founded by Geoff Sheerin, CEO of the Canadian Arrow corporation and Dr...
,
Rocketplane Limited, Inc.Rocketplane Limited, Inc. is a defunct aerospace design and development company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with facilities in Guthrie, Oklahoma and Burns Flat, Oklahoma.- History :...
, and
XCOR AerospaceXCOR Aerospace is a private rocket engine and spaceflight development company based at the Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California. XCOR was formed by former members of the Rotary Rocket rocket engine development team in September, 1999...
have donated flights to the new Teachers in Space project. Advisors to the new Teachers in Space project include SpaceShip One builder and Ansari X-Prize winner
Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
, X-Prize founder
Peter DiamandisDr. Peter H. Diamandis of Greek immigrant parents, is considered a key figure in the development of the personal spaceflight industry, having created many space-related businesses or organizations...
, Apollo astronaut
Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing...
, and private astronaut and X-Prize sponsor
Anousheh AnsariAnousheh Ansari is an engineer and the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. . The Ansari family is also...
.
The Space Frontier Foundation worked with the United States Rocket Academy to draft rules for a "pathfinder" competition to select the first Teachers in Space. The rules were announced at the Wirefly X PRIZE Cup Competition held at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico the weekend of October 26-28. Applications were accepted until November 4, 2008. On July 20, 2009, Teachers in Space announced the next group of teacher astronauts. The 7 chosen teachers from around the U.S. are: Maureen Louis Adams, James Kuhl, Lanette Oliver, Stephen Heck, Rachael Manzer, Chantelle Rose, and Robert “Mike” Schmidt. The teachers will join the Pathfinder 7 crew on a space mission on a yet to be determined date.
See also
- President Reagan's Remarks to the Finalists in the Teacher in Space Project (June 26, 1985)
- Educator Astronaut Project
The Educator Astronaut Project is a NASA program designed to educate students and spur excitement in math, science, and space exploration. It is a successor to the Teacher in Space Project of the 1980s that was cancelled after Christa McAuliffe died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster...
- STS-118
STS-118 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-118 successfully lifted off on August 8, 2007 from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center , Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on August 21, 2007.It was the first...
External links