Teacher Set to Make History Aboard Shuttle
Barbara Morgan, who trained as Christa McAuliffe’s backup before the ill-fated Challenger disaster, will go into orbit next year to become the first educator-astronaut in space, NASA said.
Morgan is scheduled for launch to the international space station in November, nearly 18 years after the January 1986 disaster that claimed the lives of McAuliffe and her six crewmates.
Morgan, 51, of Idaho, will be joined on the shuttle Columbia by commander Scott Kelly and four other astronauts. The mission’s goal is to deliver supplies and solar arrays to the station.
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