'Flying' Teachers - NASA Starts Learning Again

NASA's space shuttle, Endeavour, flies in space at a speed of 15,000 miles per hour (24,000).
It is the 22nd mission to the International Space Station and it was launched at 6:36 pm (2236 GMT) on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Teacher Barbara Morgan, 55, is the incontestable star of the second shuttle mission to the International Space Station this year. This mission is intended to be different because the first one was marked by embarrassing stories of drunken and love-crazed astronauts. That's why maybe NASA decided to continue The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) which was launched in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan in order to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur excitement in math, science, and space exploration. That same year, NASA selected Christa McAuliffe to be the first teacher in space and Barbara Morgan was her backup. McAuliffe died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (STS-51-L).

"Christa was, is, and always will be our 'Teacher in Space,' our first teacher to fly" in a shuttle, Morgan said in an interview released by NASA "She truly knew what this was all about -- not just bringing the world to her classroom, but also helping ... to show the world what teachers do," she said.

It seems that after 21 years and after the recent scandals, NASA turned to the old inspirational program which intended to fire the imagination of millions and keep up support for its shuttle program. First Lady, Laura Bush, who is a former teacher herself, met Barbara Morgan on Tuesday to offer congratulations as from "one school teacher to another".

And it seems that NASA's strategy succeeded up to now, since the 11 days mission started with the solemnity conferred by this 51-year-old teacher. Endeavour is carrying seven astronauts, including a Canadian and their mission is to continue the expansion of the ISS, an orbiting laboratory that NASA considers a key part of its space exploration ambitions.

Never too late to start learning again.