Boost for Teacher-in-Space Program

The chairman of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration committee reviewing the teacher-in-space program said Thursday that he favors reviving the project but that the space agency is not close to a decision.

The mother of Sharon Christa McAuliffe, meanwhile, said that renewing the program would just bring back bad memories of the accident that killed her daughter.

McAuliffe, of Concord, N.H., was selected in a national contest to become the first teacher in space. She and six crew mates were killed in 1986 when the shuttle Challenger exploded less than two minutes after launch.

Alan Ladwig said NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin named a 12-member committee this month to review the program and make a recommendation about its future. The committee will hold its first meeting next month. “I’m personally leaning toward recommending that it be revived, but it will be up to the review panel,” said Ladwig, an agency executive.

He said Barbara Morgan, the McCall, Ida., teacher who trained alongside McAuliffe as the designated backup, is still poised to fly and has made many speeches on behalf of the program.

Grace Corrigan, McAuliffe’s mother, opposes resuming the program but said her daughter “accomplished her mission. She got kids excited about space and teachers excited about being teachers. She elevated the level of the profession.”