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| Morgan (left) sits beside Christa McAuliffe, as her backup, in 1986. NASA/Reuters |
Shuttle launch one giant leap for teacherkind
When Endeavor takes off for the International Space Station Wednesday, a teacher-turned-astronaut will have made good on a decades-old dream.
from the August 8, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
But no field trip or lesson plan could prepare the Morgans for Jan. 28, 1986, when they watched the Challenger take off. "She knew something was really, really wrong right away," says Clay.
Barbara went straight into crew quarters where the Challenger astronauts' families were, Clay says; she was especially concerned with helping their children. Eventually, the Morgans flew home to Houston. At 3 a.m., they stepped off a NASA jet – and found hundreds of NASA workers waiting. "It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen," says Clay. All night, a NASA employee sat outside their apartment in case they needed support.
This comforting of crew members' grieving families was something Barbara would do years later, after the Columbia shuttle accident in 2003. In fact, Barbara had been scheduled to go up in that very shuttle on its next mission.
Setting an example for children dealing with tragedy was vital to Barbara. For months after the Challenger explosion, in which Ms. McAuliffe perished, she traveled the country, talking with children about the accident, which many of them had watched on live television. She also picked up McAuliffe's speaking engagements. The call of teaching brought her back to McCall within the year, and the Morgans soon had two sons. Clay calls their time in crew quarters the "tipping point" in their decision to have kids: "We saw how important children were to the adults; it was so obvious and profound."
But Barbara had not given up on space, not even when NASA barred civilians from the shuttle. In 1998, the four Morgans pulled up their roots and moved to Houston so she could continue her training – this time, as a full-fledged astronaut. She went to work early, came home late, and studied training manuals until after midnight. Fellow astronaut Ellen Baker, who worked with Barbara in the 1980s and again when Barbara returned to NASA in 1998, noticed Barbara's passion and commitment. Barbara was invited to join the Endeavor crew.
The Challenger incident had changed her perspective on her dream, Clay says. Barbara would "show kids that are watching us, what adults do after bad times." She's also hoping to provide an example of teachers as explorers.
Once the shuttle reaches the space station, Barbara will operate the robot arm to attach a new piece of the solar-power system. She will also use downlinks to answer questions from kids at three US locations. Back on Earth, Barbara will travel and give talks, many at schools.
Whatever her next life venture is, her friend, Mr. Johnson predicts, "I don't think we've seen Barb make her full mark on the world yet."
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