Can you imagine your teacher climbing on board the shuttle and being launched into space? For a class of 21 third-graders in McCall, Idaho, that's not so hard to picture. Two weeks ago, NASA announced that their teacher, Barbara Morgan, will be allowed to fly on a shuttle trip. She will begin astronaut training this summer, and is expected to blast off in about two years.
Morgan, 46, came close to being an astronaut once before. In January 1986 she was the backup astronaut for Christa McAuliffe, whom NASA selected as its first "Teacher in Space." Morgan watched in shock as the Challenger shuttle, carrying McAuliffe and six other astronauts, exploded. Everyone on board was killed. "Christa will always be our Teacher in Space," says Morgan. "That should never be forgotten."