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Readers, reviewers praise Clay Morgan's novel set in the Amazon.
ClayMorgan launches
himself with 'Santiago'
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Y
Morgan
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
"We all have free will until all is
too late." - Santiago Benalcazar.
McCall author Clay Morgan is
the newest member of the Morgan
family to gain nationwide recogni-
tion for their efforts.
Morgan's second novel, Santiago
and The Drinking Party (Viking
Penguin, 271 pages), has sold well
and received good reviews across the
country since its release this sum-
mer.
For Morgan, the most rewarding
part of Santiago was merely com-
pleting it, since the effort became
tangled up for years in the travels
and tragedies of his wife, NASA
Teacher in Space Barbara Morgan.
Santiago was in rough form in
January 1986, when Morgan, 42,
witnessed with his wife the explo-
sion of the space shuttle Challenger,
an event that changed their lives.
"I was just stunned," he said in
' an interview last week at his home.
"It was the first bad thing that had
happened to me. After the accident, I
had amazingly strong feelings to-
ward everything."
Morgan pulled out the
manuscript and decided "it didn't do
it for me. I put it away." A year
later, he took the work off the shelf
and started back into it with a new
perspective. "It got darker and
deeper," he said.
Eighteen months ago, Morgan
was informed by Viking Penguin,
one of the nation's largest book
publishers, that Santiago was suit-
able for publication.
"Selling a novel
makes you just
enough money to
write another
novel."
— Clay Morgan .
The acceptance came just in
time, as Morgan already had put out
feelers for teaching jobs in small
colleges around the West in order to
provide financial support for his
wife and two sons, Adam, 5, and
Ryan, 3.
With the release this summer of
Santiago came a regional book -sign-
ing and reading tour by Morgan plus
a fistful of glowing reviews, such as
ti
/-2/jG/f4P 46.2 of. .3 t19s
this one from reviewer James Polk
of The Washington Post:
"The novel never gets out of con-
trol or loses its sense of direction,"
Polk wrote. "An expert mix of slap-
stick, irony, pathos and sometimes
sinister mystery, Santiago and the
Drinking Party is really .. . a
deeply felt and provocative inquiry
into the nature of life and death, and
of the peculiar creatures who must
finally deal with both."
Santiago's initial printing of
5,000 copies in hard cover is selling
well, and the book will be published
soon in paperback, said Paul Slo-
vak, director of Viking Publicity in
New York City.
"We feel very pleased with the
way the book has been published,"
Slovak said. "The strength of the
book is the quality of writing and
the story -telling and the authentic-
ity.
Santiago is the tale of Daniel
Cooper, a young American who is
unable to cope with the mainstream
culture of the United States and
wanders to the Amazon rain forest
of South America.
In the jungle, Cooper, whose
personality is based on Morgan's
own, finds the small village of Los
Puentes Caidos ("fallen bridges"), a
steamy backwater town inhabited by
a variety of odd, interesting, beauti-
ful and scary people.
Presiding at the philosophical
center of the village is Santiago,
who nightly convenes the Drinking
and Thinking Club in the local
cantina. This unlikely gathering in-
cludes a veteran, a dwarf, a blind
man and others who try to sort out
life's mysteries while drinking beer
and sucking lemons.
Rimming this circle are Santi-
ago's daughter, Angelina, who
catches butterflies for sale to re-
searchers and is an icon of beauty in
the village; Consuelo, Cooper's
love interest who has an innovative
treatment for malaria; and Hector
Tanbueno, a badder-than-bad villain
who is suspected of everything from
murder to causing earthquakes.
Cooper watches, at first from
afar, as bizarre events unfold in the
village. The occupants must cope
with volcanos, floods, frogs and
Frenchmen, and finally with a mys-
terious sickness that threatens the
entire town. Cooper is drawn deep
into the middle of this madness,
with near -tragic results.
A reader of Santiago is sent scur-
rying for the ice tea pitcher due to
its humid tropical imagery. Morgan
knew such climate first-hand when
' and Barbara lived in Quito, the
capital of Ecuador, for a year in the
lat e 1970s.
It was during that time that he
brxame acquainted with the reclusive
v titer Moritz Thomsen, after whom
S antiago is modeled. He also expe-
r',enced fascinating adventures in the
jangle, including finding a crashed
(largo plane on the side of a moun-
tain, an incident that became part of
the book.
In 1985, he returned to Ecuador
for six weeks to refresh his memory
while Barbara was training for space
flight -in Houston, Texas, as the
back-up to the original Teacher in
Space, Christa McAuliffe.
After the Challenger explosion
that killed McAuliffe and six others,
Morgan moved to Washington,
D.C., while his wife, a teacher at
McCall -Donnelly Elementary
School, took over the travel and
speaking schedule of McAuliffe. "I
saw her for six hours one month,"
he said.
To keep active, he applied to Na-
tional Public Radio for work and
was hired on to do a series of on -air
commentaries. His NPR work
helped establish his name and was
helptut in getting his toot in the
door at Viking, he said.
Morgan said he does not feel he
has been living in the shadow of his
celebrity spouse. "It never bothered
me to be Barbara Morgan's hus-
band," he said. "To have a wife
who's better known than I am is
great."
"She helps the most by encour-
aging me and believing in me," he
said. "Also financially, because
through all these years she has had
the steady job."
He noted that his association
with Barbara did not seem to matter
to the four publishers who rejected
Santiago before Viking accepted it.
Morgan's only jealously of his
wife is her opportunity to fly in
space, a date for which still has not
been set by NASA. "I'd trade places
with her in a minute ... I'd push
her out of the way," he said.
Establishing a reputation as a
writer is a short-lived proposition at
best. "If you carve your own niche,
you have to carve it every 18
months or you are knocked out of
there," he said.
To that end, Morgan already is
well into writing another novel for
Viking, Wild Fires, which is about
smokejumpers. He is intimate with
the subject, having been a smoke -
jumper for 12 summers at the Mc-
Call Smokejumper Base and making
167 jumps until he quit in 1987.
He also is writing an historical
book about Boise on assignment
from a Helena, Mont., publisher,
and he continues to write free-lance
articles for magazines.
"Selling a novel makes you just
enough money to write another
novel," he said.
Plf,•s j09p/92 Page a' 3 (-It Fagan
Excerpt from Morgan's novel
(Note: Here is an excerpt
from Santiago and the
Drinking Party by Clay
Morgan. In the scene, the
narrator, Daniel Cooper, is
persuaded by the evil Hector
to spy on the lovely
Angelina, who collects but-
terflies to sell to re-
searchers.)
Within a few minutes, Angelina
came into view, stepping from
stone to stone. She wore canvas
shoes, canvas shorts, and a blue
short -sleeved blouse whose tails
were tied across her stomach. Her
dark hair was tied back by a blue
bandanna. She carried a canvas bag,
slung over her shoulder like a fish-
erman's creel, and a butterfly net.
She stopped, twenty feet below us.
I heard her feet tapping on the
stones. I heard her breathing. I felt
embarrassed to spy on her. I looked
at Hector. He was in rapture.
Angelina set down her shoulder bag.
She knelt beside it. Her legs were
long and brown and as gracefully
shaped as the rock had been shaped
by the water. The sunlight made its
way through the forest canopy and
illuminated the dome of her knee.
She opened her bag and took out
a small square of bright blue fabric.
She rose and walked to the edge of
the stream, where the water fell off a
ledge about ,two meters high. She
looked around at the jungle — and
looked at me, I thought — and then
she stepped back so her body melted
into the purple shadow of the rocks.
She held out the blue fabric, into a
shaft of sun, and began slowly to
waft the blue cloth in the light.
"Now she changes," Hector
whispered. "She flies."
The blue flutter of the cloth in
the sunlight above the waterfall
flashed like a beacon in the darkness
of the canyon. It seemed as if the
shadow of Angelina were reaching
to touch us, and the blue rag at the
tip of her fingers were a scrap of
blue flame.
"Oh! None can resist," whispered
Hector. "I would fly. I would fly!
Every time I watch her, I feel
stronger."
Suddenly, from out of the jungle,
from above us, another patch of
bright blue appeared. Again and
again, closer and closer, an enor-
mous blue butterfly appeared in the
shafts of sunlight, and always nearer
to Angelina.
"The blue morpho," whispered
Hector. "The bluest shape of the
smallest death."
The butterfly's wings beat so
slowly that it seemed not to fly but
to hang by an invisible string
tugged at from above by a rhythmic,
hypnotic hand. It circled the scrap of
fabric in Angelina's hand and she
matched the pulse of its wings. The
butterfly made three passes. Then
Angelina's hand went still. The but-
terfly lighted on her smallest finger.
It closed its wings, and it disap-
peared.
The net fell over it.
"Pah!" panted Hector. "Now! I
have died!"
I took a deep breath. I felt cold.
r k) mar - /Yen's
Morgan
wins book
award
McCall author Clay Morgan has
been awarded one of seven 1993
Book Awards given by the Pacific
Northwest Booksellers Association.
The award was given to Morgan
at a recent banquet held in Spokane,
Wash. The awards are given annu-
ally to honor books of exceptional
quality by writers, illustrators and
publishers from Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Montana and
Alaska.
Morgan was honored for his
novel, Santiago and The Drinking
Party, a mystical work describing
the adventures of a young American
who finds himself living in a back-
water village deep in the Amazon
jungle. The town is informally
presided over by a band of men who
drink beer in the local cantina and
discuss the problems of the world.
More than 150 entries of books
published during 1992 were nomi-
nated for this year's PNBA awards,
awards committee chair Marylin
Newman said.
"The quality and variety of this
year's entries especially impressed
the committee," Newman said. "It's
a passionate selection process de-
termining the final winners."
-1'1,471:4c'$5 /11(1 k:
oe'
,„oloPo'
Clay Morgan looks out onto the streets of Boise. Morgan grew up here, and recently released an essay -picture book about the city.
write out of
wonder'
Idaho's newest writer -in -residence
explores life's possibilities
through his work
By Marianne Flagg
Photos by Katherine Jones
The Idaho Statesman
lay Morgan's life is woefully thin
on the kind of grit often thought
to make novelists good and deep.
There is no family dysfunction lurking
in his background, no tales of living in
the street, no whiskey -guzzling to dull
the pain of his choices.
The McCall writer lived in Ecuador in
the late '70s, and remembers a writer
friend's dismissal that he would never be
a writer because, "I had never suffered."
"He was absolutely right," Morgan, 43,
says now from a Boise cafe, watching
drizzle coat Main Street. "No one had
ever been mean to me. I lived one of those
storybook childhoods.
"I had a loving family, a great
neighborhood, not a worry in the world."
Despite the handicap of a happy
childhood, Morgan managed to publish
two novels and a just -released essay -
picture book on Boise. This week he was
named Idaho's next writer -in -residence, a
two-year post that requires him to read
his work in 12 Idaho communities.
He will receive a $10,000 stipend. His
term begins in January.
Writing is only one avenue in a life
Criss -crossed with the traffic of
adventure. Morgan has spent most of his
adult life working as a McCall
smokejumper, and he had a couple of
close calls fighting fires.
He broke his jaw into three pieces at
age 19 in a motorcycle accident. And
while canoeing a river in Ecuador, he
nearly drowned in a whirlpool.
But those events didn't teach him
about the emotional pain to which his
Ecuadoran friend referred. The
Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986
tendered that lesson.
Morgan's wife, Barbara, 42, is NASA's
Teacher -in -Space.
She was New Hampshire teacher
Christa McAuliffe's backup when the
shuttle exploded, killing McAuliffe and
the rest of the crew. The Morgans, in
Cape Canaveral for the launch, were
standing apart when it happened.
"She ran to me and I ran to her,"
Morgan recalls. "That was the first
tragedy that I felt and understood to the
bone."
A changed style
The accident changed his writing. He
was working on a whimsical book about
a South American sage and his ad hoc
philosophy club, which became
"Santiago and the Drinking Party," his
second novel.
"(The book) was very light before the
accident happened," Morgan says. "I waE
able to look at the manuscript and see it
wasn't me anymore."
A character called Hector, previously a
buffoon, transformed into a sinister force
the personification of evil.
Clay Morgan file
Name: Clay Morgan
Education: Master of Fine Arts
in writing, University of Mon-
tana, 1977; bachelor of arts in
English, Stanford University,
1972; Diploma, Capital High
School, 1968.
Writer -in -residence: Morgan
was selected by five panelists
— one from Idaho, the rest out-
of-state — in blind readings. He
will represent the state's com-
mitment to literature with 12
readings in Idaho during the
next two years.
His $10,000 stipend is paid by
the state from its basic grant
from the National Endowment
Death, too, became a vivid character.
Jean B. Wilson, owner of The Book
Shop, says Morgan's writing takes
surprising turns.
"Clay has this appeal of just being this
sweet, wonderful person, and he is. But
his writing has hidden facets," Wilson
says. "(`Santiago) takes you in one
direction and all of a sudden, you're not
in that same direction. You're in a much
deeper place."
"Santiago" blends satire about cultural
collisions with the enchantment of
nature and the mystery of Latin
American magical realism.
The book concerns American Daniel
Cooper, Who lives among Amazonian
villagers. He attends Santiago's meetings
4-3
,
r(c e of 3
for the Arts.
Selected awards: 1992 Pacific
Northwest Booksellers Award
for "Santiago and the Drinking
Party"; Best Magazine Col-
umns, Society of Professional
Journalists, Seattle, 1990; Ida-
ho Commission on the Arts Fel-
lowship, 1986; Distinctive Short
Story ("The Rowboat"), "Best
American Short Stories," 1975.
Books: "Boise: The City and its
People," (essay/photos), with
photographer Steve Bly, 1993,
American Geographic; "Santia-
go and the Drinking Party"
(novel), 1992, Viking; "Aura"
(novel), 1984, Confluence.
Cooper falls in love with San- -
tiago's daughter, Angelina, who)
charms butterflies, particularly,7
the translucent, hand -sized blue
morpho.
"The butterfly's wings beat so)
slowly that, it seemed not to flyy
but to hang by an invisible string;
tugged at from above by a rhyth-
mic, hypnotic hand. It circled the?
scrap of fabric in Angelina's;
hand and she matched the pulse?
of its wings."
"I love the poetry of the lan-_
guage, playing with the words,"'
Morgan says. "I hear the?
rhythm and I hear the music off
the words before I see the?
words."
S (a le S krigh r); r M
Diversity in his career
Morgan's diverse writing ca-
reer also includes short stories,,
magazine journalism and re-
ports for the U.S. Forest Service
and the National Science Foun-
dation. From 1986 to 1991, he,
delivered radio commentaries;
for National Public Radio, in-.
eluding one in which he talkedE
about smokejumping while do
ing it.
He is two-thirds finished withL
a novel about smokejumping.
"One of the things that strikes;
me is the talent and crispness of
his writing, and the consider-
able range he's able to show,"'
says poet Daryl Jones.
"I write out of wonder at how
the world is like it is," Morgan.
explains. "If I ask a question (in.
my writing) it might be how to
live a good life. I use different
characters to try to answer that.
Maybe I use my fiction to live
life in different ways."
Morgan enjoyed writing in his
childhood. In other respects, his
youth was carefree and full of a
boy's humble fun.
Photographer Steve Bly, his
partner on "Boise: The City and
its People," says Morgan is
"like a kid" in his enthusiasm.
He recalls indulging in pur-
suits that now might be deemed
unfit for kids, but was naive
then. When he was a boy, the
Old Penitentiary in East Boise
still housed prisoners. He and
friends climbed the rocks above
to look into the prison yard.
"You could tell your mom,
`We're going to watch the pris-
oners,' and your mom would say,
'As long as I know where you
are,' " Morgan recalls with a
laugh.
His curiosity about life flow-
ered alongside his love of
writing.
After college at Stanford —
where he met Barbara — wan-
derlust sent him to South Ameri-
ca on a solo trip. The couple
returned after their marriage 15
years ago to live in Ecuador.
Morgan was charmed by the
Ecuadorans' devotion to conver-
sation.
"You have dinner with poor
people and they have one candle
to burn before going to bed," he
says. "They would talk about
the most philosophical things.
They were able to get serious in
a way we don't."
Bly witnessed Morgan's
unique appreciation of nature
on a trip to Alaska last year for
a writing and photo project.
"We went by dinghy and pho-
tographed glacier blue bears,
and Clay said, `I'd really like to
be able to talk to the bears.'
They were 30 yards away or
less," Bly says. "He thinks be-
yond the average human being."
Career and family
Morgan spends most days
writing his smokejumping nov-
el, "Wild Fires," and caring for
his and Barbara's two sons,
Adam, 6, and Ryan, 4.
Barbara juggles work as a
third -grade teacher in McCall
with her NASA duties, which
spirit her out of state frequently.
The couple lives by Payette
Lake in a converted cabin on a
state -leased lot acquired by
Morgan's grandfather around
1929.
Neither makes huge money,
but Morgan says just when he
thinks they may have to move so
he can look for a higher -paying
job, a writing project comes
through.
But, he says, "I know there's
no security (in writing)."
Morgan wants his wife to fly a
shuttle mission and is unde-
terred by the tragedy they wit-
nessed. Her NASA work is valu-
able for kids and the teaching
profession, he says.
A physical exam in Houston
last week kept her lashed to
medical equipment and away
from his writer -in -residence cer-
emony. But she encourages his
work.
"She makes the most sacri-
fices. She puts up with a lot. I
stay home with the kids, but
that's easier than what she's
doing."
In between reading jaunts
around Idaho, Morgan plans to
finish his novel with a work-
manlike diligence he compares
to cabinet-making. "The doors
have to swing just right," he
says. "It's both an art and a
craft."
p
-"-(r - %i P r✓s - /� f // / 3
Morgan named Writer-n-Residence
McCall writer Clay Morgan has
received the state's highest literary
recognition, becoming its 1994-1995
Writer -in -Residence.
This award from the Idaho Com-
mission on the Arts carries with it a
grant of $10,000 and the understand-
ing that Morgan will hold 12
community readings during the two-
year term to share his art with Idaho's
people.
"Clay Morgan has been an integral
part of Idaho's literary community
for years and one of its finest writers,"
Gov. Cecil Andrus said in announc-
ing the honor. "It comes as no surprise
that the distinguished panel of nation-
ally -known poets and writers would
be drawn to Clay's superb writings."
Morgan was recommended for the
award by a panel representing a vari-
ety of book publishers. The panelists
read the anonymous submissions of
26 applicants, and at an open meeting
in Sun Valley in May recommended
Morgan's works. The recommenda-
tion was forwarded to Andrus by the
Idaho Commission on the Arts.
Morgan has published novels, short
stories, essays, articles and book re-
views. His novel Santiago and the
Drinking Party (Viking Press) won
the 1992 Pacific Northwest Booksell-
ers Award. In manuscript form, it
earned Morgan an Idaho Commis-
sion on the Arts Fellowship in 1986.
His first novel; Aura (Confluence
Press), won the Idaho Fiction Compe-
tition in 1984.
He has produced over 50 commen-
taries for National Public Radio,
including a series on fires and fire
Clay
Morgan
McCall author
fighting for which he strapped a tape
recorder to his chest and narrated a
parachute jump into an Idaho wilder-
ness fire.
His most recent publication is
Boise: The City and the People with
photographer Steve Bly which was
just released in November. He is cur-
rently working on a novel about Idaho
smokejumpers entitled Wild Fires.
Morgan has a history of commit-
ment to literature that includes teach-
ing writing to students from first grade
through college and participating in
the Poet in the Schools program.
"I've identified with Idaho so
much, for so long, that it's a thrill to
have Idaho identified with me," said
Morgan, a fourth generation Idahoan.
"I think the whole thing is wonderful
and I'm excited about the next two
years and spreading the words."
On Jan. 1, Morgan will succeed
poet Daryl Jones of Boise, interim
executive vice president and profes-
sor at Boise State University. During
Jones' two-year term as Idaho's
Writer -in Residence, he has held well
over 12 readings and workshops in
Idaho communities.
Morgan is 43 years old and a gradu-
ate of Stanford University with an
master's degree in fine arts from the
University of Montana. He lives in
McCall with his wife Barbara Mor-
gan, NASA's Teacher -in -Space, and
their two sons, Adam and Ryan.
Prodded by the State Federation of
Women's Clubs and the State PTA,
Governor C.C. Moore in 1923 ap-
pointed Irene Welch Grissom Idaho's
first poet laureate for life.
In 1982, Gov. John Evans ap-
pointed a five -member panel of Ida-
hoans, who recommended selection
of a writer -in -residence to serve a
two-year term.
tiP Spar • lye W s
NASA panel to
mull Morgan
shuttle flight
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
McCall teacher Barbara Morgan
will meet Monday with a special
NASA panel charged with recom-
mending whether or not she will fly
on the space shuttle.
Morgan, NASA's Teacher in
Space, will meet in Washington D.C.
with the 12- member internal review
panel appointed in June by NASA
Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.
The panel will recommend to
Goldin whether Morgan should fly on
the space shuttle, a decision that has
been on hold since the shuttle Chal-
lenger exploded in 1986.
Morgan, a third -grade teacher at
McCall - Donnelly Elementary School,
said Tuesday she hoped Goldin would
soon end the waiting she has under-
gone for the last 8 -1/2 years since she
was named 'teacher in Space.
"A decision needs to be made - it's
very important," she said. "You can
do something really positive and have
a positive effect on education or yo
can say `sorry, we can't do it,' which
would send a pretty negative mes-
sage."
In an internal NASA memo sent in
June formingthe review panel, Goldin
said Morgan's future "has been the
irbara
[organ
McCall
cher still
decision
to shuttle
flight
subject of recent correspondence,edi-
torial and congressional inquiry.'
Morgan said she also has person2:;y
spoken with Goldin several times
about making a decision.
In his memo, Goldin noted the
Teacher in Space program was con-
ceived to support NASA's policy of
promoting science, math, engineer-
ing and technology education.
"However, because of the inherent
risks associated with human space
flight, it also has been NASA's policy
to only allow mission - critical person-
nel to participate on Space Shuttle
flights," his memo said.
He assigned the task force, headed
by NASA Chief Engineer Wayne
(See "Morgan, " Page 12)
W(- /ate ,o . /2a�gy
McCall teacher meets
with NASA, won't talk
McCall teacher Barbara Mor-
gan met with the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administra-
tion about the future of the
"Teacher in Space" program,
but she isn't saying what deci-
sions were reached.
The third -grade teacher in the
McCall - Donnelly School Dis-
trict for the past 811/2 years has
been NASA's Teacher in Space.
She met in Washington on Mon-
day with a 12- member internal
review board appointed by agen-
cy chief Daniel Goldin.
Morgan had little to report
from the session.
"What went on is internal,"
she said in a telephone inter-
view. "I really can't say any -
thing. It was between us."
The review panel is supposed
to prepare a recommendation to
Goldin whether Morgan should
fly on a space shuttle. Morgan
has spoken with Goldin several
times about the Teacher in
Space project.
Only one teacher has flown in
space. New Hampshire high
school teacher Christa McAu-
liffe and Morgan trained togeth-
er in 1985 for the Challenger
launch in January of 1986. It
exploded shortly after takeoff,
killing McAuliffe and six other
astronauts aboard.
Morgan, who was the backup
to McAuliffe, was named to the
assignment shortly after the ac-
cident. She and her husband,
writer Clay Morgan, since have
had two children, Adam, 7, and
Ryan, 5.
Morgan
meets
NASA
panel
McCall teacher Barbara Morgan
met Monday with a special NASA
panel charged with recommending
whether or not she will fly on the
space shuttle.
Details of the meeting, held at
NASA's Washington D.C. headquar-
ters, were not released. The session
was part of a NASA internal process
and not subject to public disclosure,
said Pam Bacon, a NASA spokes-
man. Morgan could not be reached
for comment.
Morgan, NASA's Teacher in
Space, was called to Washington to
meet with the 12- member internal
review panel appointed in June by
NASA Administrator Daniel S.
Goldin.
The panel will recommend to
Goldin whether Morgan should fly on
the space shuttle, a decision that has
been on hold since the shuttle Chal-
lenger exploded in 1986.
The advisory panel has no dead-
line to make a recommendation, and
no decision has been made whether to
make the recommendation public.
If Morgan is assigned to a shuttle
mission, such assignments typically
are made a year or more before the
planned launch date.
It was 10 years ago this fall that
Morgan made her application to
NASA for the Teacher in Space pro-
gram.
She competed with more than
10,600 teachers nationwide, and fin-
ished as first alternate behind New
Hampshire high school teacher Christa
McAuliffe.
On Jan. 28, 1986, the shuttle Chal-
lenger exploded shortly after lift -off
from the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida, killing McAuliffe and six
other astronauts.
IVW
//,' sA ?v,
NASA still silent on Morgan
Barbara
Morgan
Still waiting
for NASA
decision
after 10 years
BY TOM GROTE the return to space flight, there have ment about the Challenger accident
been 49 successful shuttle missions, that made no reference to Morgan.
The Star -News
Ten years after the explosion of more than twice as many as before the Welch said it would be "inappro-
priate" to discuss Morgan's future
the space shuttle Challenger, McCall Challenger disaster.
teacher Barbara Morgan still does not Meanwhile, Morgan has continued while it was being considered within
know when - or whether - she will be to work for NASA under her Teacher in NASA, but he did go out of his way to
Space contract, which requires her to praise Morgan. "She has always been
given the chance to fly on a mission as
NASA's Teacher in Space. travel at least once per month for ap- a treasured member of the national
NASA family and she has been an
A NASA spokesman said last week pearances nationwide at conferences
decision had been made on on space and educalion. As part of her outstanding ambassador for the space
no
Morgan's future, and that there was contract, NASA pays tke M -D school program," he said.
district half of her salary. In her interview with The Star-
no timetable to make a decision.
Morgan, a third -grade teacher at
This week, Morgan was at the News, Morgan, 44, said she has re-
Johnson Space Center in Houston, peatedly asked NASA to schedule her
McCall- Donnelly Elementary School,
said earlier this month she has re-
undergoing her annual physical flight for a mission, but space agency offi-
cials have been non - committal.
ceived no hints from NASA on her
qualification.. On Tuesday, she un-
derwent a sees of interviews by vari- She said she was frustrated by the
future, despite her repeated requests.
but nott ust her
on the 10th anniversary of dlt
It was 10 years ago this Sunday, on
1986, that Morgan watched
ous media for
the Challenger accident. " aril to show that
Jan. 28,
from the ground at the Kennedy Space
A number of commemorative cer- what Christa and the others were do-
are planned by NASA this ing was not wrong, but that it was
Center in Florida as the Challenger
exploded shortly after launch.
emonies
weekend to mark the anniversary, said right," she said.
Brian Welch, chief of news and infor- One ofthe in
The seven occupants of the shuttle
were killed, including Christa
oajorlesson
S is to that teach-
mation for NASA. P P g rl show
In interview before she left for ers are willing take risks for learning,
McAuliffe, the New Hampshire high
school history teacher who was the
an
Houston, Morgan said she did not Morgan said. "(The Challenger mis-
original NASA Teacher in Space.
plan to attend any of the ceremonies, sion) made it much more believable,"
but was looking forward to spending she said. To cancel her mission would
Morgan was the .alternate for
McAuliffe, having placed second out
Sunday quietly at her McCall home be sending the wrong message to stu-
with her husband, Clay, and the dents around the nation, she said.
cf 11,000 teachers nationwide who
applied for the Teacher in Space slot.
couple's two sons, Adam, 8, and Ryan, One of Morgan's close friends, M-
Morgan trained side -by -side with
6. D music teacher Kathy Phelan, agreed
NASA Administrator Daniel S. NASA should send Morgan into
McAuliffe for five months and be-
Goldin has made no decision on space.
came close friends with her and the
whether Morgan will fly on a shuttle "The flight Christa was on was to
other six astronauts who were killed.
Faulty seals in the shuttle's solid-
mission, and there is no timetable to let people know how important space
decision, Welch said. be
rocket boosters were the direct cause
make that exploration was to to even ordi-
"We've looked at it _periodically nary citizens," Phelan said. "I think it
of the accident, but managerial mis-
since 1986, but no decision has been would be a mistake not to complete
takes and internal pressures to keen
made in respect to the program," that mission."
the shuttle launches on schedule were
Welch said. Phelan, who also witnessed the
also cited.
In 1994, Goldin appointed an in- Challenger explosion in Florida 10
Within days after the Challenger ex-
ternal review board composed of years ago, said it has been unfair to
plosion, Morgan was offered, and she
NASA employees to make a recom- keep Morgan in suspense for so long,
quickly accepted, taking over
mendation to him about whether to and she' suspects NASA officials may
McAuliffe's role. At that time, NASA
send Morgan on a shuttle mission. have "lost their nerve."
officials could not say when Morgan
That body made a recommenda- But Phelan said Morgan has not
would be assigned to a mission, if ever.
tion to Goldin, but Welch would not lost her enthusiasm for the Teacher in
It would be 2 71/2 years before the
shuttle flew again, in September 1988,
reveal its contents. The Star -News Space program. "I'm amazed how she
made a request for the panel's report does it, to keep up the intensity."
with revamped safety improvements
under the federal Freedom of Infor-
in both the shuttle itself and in criteria
mation Act, but no response had been
used by NASA for launches. Since
received to the request this week.
Goldin himself declined to be in-
terviewed, instead releasing a state-
,��P -/--& S, -,, 4" . /P r/9(1
Challenger disaster
o chap space p g r ram forever
ed g
10 years later an uncertain )ourney. Long gone
is NASA's image as home to the
explosion still stirs best and brightest, a can-do outfit
that put men on the moon. To
Americas feelings many, it's now just another bu-
By Michael Cabbage
Gannett News Service
As Challenger's giant rocket en-
gines ignited in 36- degree weather
on Jan. 28, 1986, everything
seemed routine for the first 73
seconds.
Then it happened.
The images are unforgettable.
The giant ball of flame. The solid
rocket boosters hurtling away.
The stunned families staring at
the sky.
Ten years later, shuttle Chal-
lenger's explosion still stirs feel-
ings in many Americans matched
only by events such as John F.
Kennedy's assassination.
The catastrophe put NASA on
Idaho astronaut
remembers crew,
keeps dream alive
By Charles Etlinger
The Idaho Statesman
reaucracy, struggling for money
and political support and facing
an unprecedented restructuring.
NASA today is fighting for its
survival against a host of political
enemies who want to slash its
- funding -- or kill it. NASA's re-
sponsibilities will.$hrink in Sep-
tember when most shuttle opera-
tions are turned over to United
Space Alliance, a joint venture
formed by aerospace giants Rock-
well and Lockheed Martin.
Some are questioning whether
the lessons of Challenger are be-
ing forgotten. The Associated Prest
Behind the concern is the un- The space shuttle Challenger exploded 10 years ago Sunday, killing
spoken fear that another disaster all seven crew members. Pictured above are, from front, Greg
could spell the end of the space Jarvis, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe and Mike Smith.
program. Opinion is mixed on
whether NASA could survive. who was the first American to
But Sen. John Glenn, D -Ohio, 'orbit the Earth, predicts NASA
and the space program will be
around, regardless.
"People have looked up there
On Sunday, the 10th anniver-
sary of the Challenger disaster,
teacher -in -space Barbara Mor-
gan will be doing what she's
done every day for a decade:
"Thinking about those seven
people, and I'll be thinking
about their families."
From the roof of the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida, the Mc-
Call resident watched the space
shuttle explode 73 seconds after
it lifted off. Troy Maben /The Idaho Statesman
She witnessed the deaths of a Barbara Morgan
good friend, Christa McAuliffe, She's still waiting.
the first teacher in space, and Morgan knows of no timetable
six other astronauts. for her space rocket ride, and
Morgan, as backup "teacher- yet is still excited about the
naut," signed on after the di- prospect.
saster to replace McAuliffe as "I wish we could have already
the first private citizen ready to had the next teacher -in -space
orbit the Earth. She would have flight and the next one and the
given a lesson to school children next one and the next one," she
from the spacecraft. said. "That's frustrating and dis-
appointing not just to me but to
for thousands of years and won-
dered, and there have always been
risks. Whether there are other ac-
cidents or not, I think the space
program is here to stay."
teachers and students all over tough," Morgan said.
the country." Ever the teacher, she adels
Morgan, 44, spoke this week "It's good to stop and reflect :t a+d
by phone from Houston, where remember how to live our lies,
she _ traveled for her annual how to learn.
flight physical. She has warm memories of th a
A third grade teacher at Mc ill -fated astronauts, too.
Call- Donnelly Elementary "I always remember they v: ere
School, she educates 8- and 9- excited to get on board. I hsvo
year -old kids born after the really happy, happy thoughts of I
Challenger tragedy. how they lived their lives r3 h d
As were her children, Ryan, 6,I�wThetle y we e trying
learned ofrvwt
and Adam, 8.
Still, she continues to spend the Challenger crew: "Ho\Y t,
one week a month with the Na- live your life well and full. u N a
tional Aeronautics and Space learn as much as you can, z H u
Administration. She givesdo it without fear, and kro>r
speeches and works with teach -l'I what's important and work rea I-
ers of math and science. fly hard at it.
And she trains for flight in "And not for yourself for Poe- !,
space. son (il reasons, but for all of us t,
To stay in shape, Morgan skis benefit.
and runs — not as much as she "They really were flying far,
really should, she admits. us." she said.
She'll be back home by Sun-
day, when images of the explo-
sion will again flash on TV
screens.
"Anniversaries are always
SfC��'S172 G
Crew retrieves
large chunk
of a en er
The Associated Press ni ht.
and Statesman staff - earlier Thursday, NASA ex-
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A panded its search for shuttle de-'
Coast Guard crew on Thursday bris, dispatching six Navy ships to
found a large piece of debris be- probe the "missile graveyard of
lieved to be part of the fuselage of the world." Crews recovered
the space shuttle Challenger. thousands of pounds of debris, in-
A Coast Guard spokesman said, cluding one of the shuttle's con -
"They said it took everything they trot panels.
had to get it up there on the cut- Experts were also examining a
ter, so it must be fairly large." piece of bone that washed up on a
NASA divers were on the scene beach and was found by a private
and prepared to go down 140 feet, citizen.
where sonar indicated a substan- At a news conference Thursday
tial piece of the Challenger lay, evening, Lt. Cmdr. Jim Simpson
An investigating board spent of the Coast Guard said the cutter'
the day investigating videotapes es of USS Dallas reported finding "a
Y g P large piece" and that there ap-
the liftoff taken from different an- pe4red to be parts of the cockpit
gles, and NBC said the focus was on the surface.
on one of the solid rocket boost- Simpson would not give the
ers. location of the sighting, but said it
Reporter Jay Barbree said a was far offshore.
frame -by -frame study of the film A bone with bluV, fabric at-
seen by the public seemed to indi- tached washed up on a beach, and
cate that a splice between two of medical technicians examined it
the booster's four segments to see if it belonged to one of the
sprung a leak and "served like a seven astronauts.
blowtorch and burned through the The bone was found near India -
tank — a 6,000 degree blow lantic, 35 miles south of Cape
torch." Canaveral, and taken to a hospital
The explosion killed seven peo- at nearby Patrick Air Force Base.
ple, including the first teacher NASA spokesman Hugh Harris
aboard a shuttle, Christa Mc- said the bone and tissue fragment
Auliffe. measured four inches by six
Auliffe's--backup. BarbarA
a oEMcCall, was shocked
ipset by Tues ay s tragedy,
kves and friends said, but b
aY
Clavto�r an of Boise
ira s father -in -law. said he
h
Morizan said he believed t e-,
Iwo were in Houston on ursd_y
inches by one inch.
NASA officials :'did not know
what kind of bone it was, and
there nothing was to link it to an
astronaut.
-rkp 911"Ily
Morgan to be * given
award for the arts
McCall author Clay Morgan will
be among nine persons and institu-
tions honored on Saturday at the 1996
Governor's Awards in the Arts.
The ceremony will be held on Sat-
urday at the Boise Centre on the Grove
and is sponsored by the Idaho Com-
mission on the Arts.
The arts commission selected
Morgan and the other eight honorees
from names submitted by the public.
Gov. Phil Batt then made the final
selection of distinguished artists, arts
supporters, arts educators and arts
institutions.
Morgan has published novels, short
stories, essays, articles and book re-
views. He has a bachelor's degree in
English from Stanford University and
a master's degree in creative writing
from the University of Montana.
His first novel, "Aura," won the
Idaho Fiction competition in 1984.
His novel, "Santiago and the Drink-
ing Party," won the 1992 Pacific
Northwest Booksellers Award.
In manuscript form, "Santiago"
earned Morgan an Idaho Commis-
sion on the Arts Fellowship in 1986.
He co- authored "Boise: the City and
the People," and "Idaho Unbound."
Morgan has produced more than
50 commentaries for National Public
Radio, including a series on forest
fires and firefighting. He is currently
collaborating with Nick Bantock of
Clay
Morgan
To be cited
by governor
the "Griffin and Sabine" trilogy on a
book entitled, "Carta Rosa: A Love
Story with Maps," to be published by
Simon and Schuster in 1997.
Morgan was a Forest Service
smokejumper for 12 fire seasons and
is also completing work on a novel
about Idaho smokejumpers.
He co- directs Boise State
University's annual Writers and Read-
ers Rendezvous in McCall.
Other recipients to be honored on
Saturday include The Boise Art Mu-
seum, painter George Carlson of St.
Maries, educators Mary McKenzie of
Boise and-Mother Dorothy Prokes of
Pocatello, and arts supporters Joseph
V. Eiguren (deceased), Mary Jane
Kinney (deceased), Pug Ostling of
Boise and Miles Willard of Idaho
Falls.
P 5f4r- - /0114 /y7
Morgan gets
forest grant
McCall teacher Barbara Mor-
gan has been awarded an education
grant from the Idaho Forest Prod-
ucts Commission. Morgan, a third
grade teacher at McCall Elemen-
tary School, will use the grant mon-
ies as matching funds to support
monthly field trips to local forest
sites.
The Idaho Forest Products Com-
mission awarded $2,800 in grant
monies to help implement forest -
related education projects in Idaho
schools. Morgan's proposal was
one of 16 selected applications sub-
mitted from throughout the state.
"These teachers go the extra mile
for their students," said IFPC's Edu-
cation Coordinator Michelle
Youngquist. "We are pleased to
help make these innovative projects
possible."
11� j< {aho z q -
// 711k
teayP 6� � cf 3
It's as risky now as ever, but you weigh what's important and do the best job you can.'
S HE'S HEADED FOR SPACE
Kim Hughes/The Idaho Statesmar
Barbara Morgan relaxes in her McCall home after a day of teaching third- graders. Her dog, Moxie, sleeps in front of a cozy fire. Morgan will
begin training this summer in Houston for a space shuttle flight. It's a dream she's held onto for years.
Barbara Morgan
to begin training
as mission specialist
for shuttle flight
By Rocky Barker
The Idaho Statesman
MCCALL
— NASA rewarded
third -grade
teacher Barbara
Morgan on Friday for her 13
years of patience with a promo-
tion from
teacher -in-
INSIDE
space to as
tronaut.
Glenn says he's
Morgan,
taking trip for all
46, will
elderly Ameri-
begin train-
cans.
ing this
- --
Associated Press file
summer as a mission specialist
for a flight on a space shuttle. It
realizes a dream she has tena-
ciously held since the death of
her friend, teacher Christa
McAuliffe, and six other mem-
bers of the Challenger space
shuttle, which exploded s
after launch Jan. 28, 1986.
"I'm a schoolteacher. If
weren't patient, we wouldn't
so
/,71 �;S-
teaching school," Morgan said
while sipping coffee in the liv-
we ing room of her home on
be Payette Lake.
Morgan got the news at 7
a.m. Friday from NASA admin-
istrator Dan Goldin as she was
getting ready to leave for Mc-
Call- Donnelly Elementary
School. The appointment did not
come as a surprise, but the ele-
vation of the position from pay-
load specialist, basically a pas -
senger, to mission specialist, a
fully trained astronaut, did.
•:, "Education has always been
part of NASA's mission, but this
shows just how important it is,"
she said. "Now NASA shows
rather than tells."
Morgan joined NASA in 1985
as McAuliffe's backup teacher -
in -space in the Civilian in Space
program. After the Challenger
disaster, Morgan became the
teacher in space, and since then,
has given speeches and worked
with math and science teachers
as she awaited permission to fly.
"We deliberated for a long
time," Goldin said. "She will not
be going into space just to edu-
cate children. She's going to go
up into space fully trained as
every single mission specialist
NASA has ever flown to conduct
science and, while she's there,
perform education."
The promotion moves both
NASA and Morgan from be-
neath the shadow of McAuliffe,
with whom Morgan trained and
forged a deep friendship.
" Christa always was and al-
ways will be our teacher in
space," she said.
She and her husband, author
'May Morgan, were at Cape
Canaveral when Challenger ex-
)loded. Since then, they have
iad two boys, Ryan 8, and
edam, 10.
She dismisses the danger of
pace flight.
"I've seen everything good and
bad," she said. "It's as risky now
as ever, but you weigh what's
important and you do the best
job you can."
Dr. Clay Morgan, her father -
in -law and a semi- retired Boise
physician, said Morgan is excit-
ed but very cool.
"She's a lot calmer than I
would be," he said.
The promotion means leaving
her classroom and moving to
Houston, where she will train at
the Johnson Space Center.
Though Morgan doesn't want to
rule out returning to teaching,
Clay emphasizes she's taking a
full-time position as an astronaut.
That means the whole family
goes with her.
Looking out tall picture win-
dows at the ice - covered lake and
the Ponderosa pines blanketed
in snow, Clay Morgan ponders
the move.
"We look at every day in McCall
with nostalgia already," he said.
BARBARA
MORGAN FILE
AGE — 46
EDUCATION — Stanford Uni-
versity, 1969 -1973, graduat-
ing with bachelor of arts de-
gree in human biology;
teaching credentials from
College of Notre Dame, Bel-
mont, Calif., 1973 -1974.
CAREER — Teacher at Arlee
Elementary School on Mon-
tana's Flathead Indian
Reservation, 1974; remedial
reading teacher for second -,
third- and fourth - graders at
McCall- Donnelly Elemen-
tary School, McCall, Idaho,
1975 -1978; third -grade sci-
ence and English teacher at
Colegio Americano de
Quito, Quito, Ecuador, 1978-
1979; third -grade teacher at
McCall - Donnelly Elemen-
tary School, 1979 - present.
He teaches at Boise State Uni-
versity and also has several
books in progress. But he shares
her enthusiasm.
"She looks to the training with
as much anticipation as the
flight," he said.
Friday was the last day of the
quarter, so Morgan has to do re-
port cards this weekend before
leaving for Houston for a news
conference Tuesday. She goes for
a physical next month, as she has
done for the past 12 years, and
will enter class after school ends.
She had a substitute teacher
with her all day Friday, which
helped give her the time to deal
with media interviews at school.
The Morgans' telephone rarely
stopped ringing during the day,
overloading the answering ma-
chine with calls from major
news outlets, Sen. Dirk
Kempthorne, R- Idaho, and
friends offering congratulations.
��C S i y
1 1 7 1 y ��
�� v A 3 c f 3 p a , y n s
T e a c h e r w i l l t r a i n t w o y e a r s f o r s p a c e s h u t t l e f l i g h t
B y C h a r l e s E t l i n g e r
T h e I d a h o S t a t e s m a n
B a r b a r a M o r g a n f a c e s t w o
y e a r s o f i n t e n s e t r a i n i n g b e f o r e
l i f t o f f .
T w e l v e y e a r s a f t e r s h e s a w
t h e C h a l l e n g e r s h u t t l e b l o w u p ,
t h e M c C a l l t h i r d - g r a d e t e a c h e r
i s b a c k o n t r a c k t o f l y i n t o
s p a c e .
B u t f i r s t s h e h a s t o g e t u s e d
t o w a l k i n g a r o u n d i n t h o s e
c l u n k y s p a c e s u i t s . S h e ' l l l e a r n
a b o u t t h e e q u i p m e n t o n t h e
s h u t t l e , a n d h o w t o o p e r a t e i t .
T h i s s u m m e r , s h e ' l l b e g i n a
y e a r o f b a s i c t r a i n i n g t h a t q u a l -
i f i e s n e w a s t r o n a u t s f o r a n a s -
s i g n m e n t . A n d t h e n a n o t h e r
y e a r t o t r a i n f o r h e r f l i g h t .
" G e n e r a l l y , a n e w p e r s o n a r -
r i v i n g t o b e g i n a s t r o n a u t t r a i n -
i n g i s a m i n i m u m o f t w o y e a r s
a w a y f r o m a c t u a l l y f l y i n g i n t o
s p a c e , " E d C a m p i o n , a N A S A
s p o k e s m a n i n H o u s t o n , s a i d
F r i d a y .
M o r g a n , 4 6 , w i l l t a k e o n a
b r o a d e r r o l e t h a n o r i g i n a l l y
p l a n n e d f o r " t e a c h e r n a u t s . "
S h e w a s b a c k u p t o C h r i s t a
M c A u l i f f e , t h e f i r s t t e a c h e r - i n -
s p a c e , w h o d i e d w i t h s i x o t h e r s
i n t h e C h a l l e n g e r d i s a s t e r .
T h e j o b t h e n e n t a i l e d e d u c a -
t i o n a l e x p e r i m e n t s . B u t M o r -
g a n w i l l b e t h e f i r s t m i s s i o n
s p e c i a l i s t - e d u c a t o r .
" S h e w i l l h a v e s p e c i f i c s c i e n c e
a n d r e s e a r c h a c t i v i t i e s i n a d d i -
t i o n t o h e r e d u c a t o r a c t i v i t i e s , "
C a m p i o n s a i d .
B o i s e H i g h S c h o o l t e a c h e r
D a v i d M a r q u a r t i s h a p p y f o r
M o r g a n . H e w a s o n e o f 1 0 f i n a l -
i s t s f o r t h e t e a c h e r - i n - s p a c e j o b
b u t e n d e d h i s N A S A w o r k i n
1 9 8 8 .
" I ' m p r e t t y p l e a s e d t h a t t h e
p r o m i s e s h a v e b e e n k e p t a n d
t h a t N A S A i s g o i n g t o p u t h e r
i n t h e l i n e , " h e s a i d .
M a r q u a r t , 5 6 , s a i d h e s t i l l
l o o k s u p t o h i s f o r m e r t e a c h e r s ,
a n d " h a v i n g a t e a c h e r i n t h e
s p a c e s h u t t l e w o u l d d o t h e
s a m e t h i n g f o r m a n y k i d s t o d a y
w h o a r e l o o k i n g f o r r o l e m o d -
e l s . "
tP l ( =(0
Teacher takes on her next assignment —space
By Charles Etlinger
The Idaho Statesman
Astronaut -to -be Barbara Mor-
gan was ever the teacher, even
before a battery of network cam-
eras.
At the beginning of her nation-
al news conference Tuesday, she
motioned for the ranks of media
representatives to move toward
the center, as she would in a
classroom.
"This has been kind of crazy,"
the McCall third -grade teacher
said of the four days since she
BARBARA MORGAN
learned she would at last fly on
the space shuttle.
Morgan held the news confer-
ence — originally scheduled for
Houston — at the DoubleTree
Hotel Riverside. She was scram-
bling to finish grades due today
for her students.
"I'm really trying to teach
school," she declared.
At least part of her noon -hour
conference was broadcast live by
CNN. Earlier, she taped an inter-
view for the "Today" show.
And Gov. Phil Batt, who hap-
pened to be attending a meeting
in the hotel, waited for several
minutes while Morgan did an in-
terview with MSNBC to congrat-
ulate her.
There's been worldwide inter-
est in Morgan since NASA an-
nounced Friday that pioneer as-
tronaut John Glenn would go for
another rocket ride and Morgan
would become the first mission
specialist- educator, NASA
spokesman David Steitz said.
The BBC called, as did the Ger-
man press, said Steitz, one of two
NASA press officers who carne from Washing-
ton to manage the news conference.
`The requests flooded Morgan's home phone.
"There was one period of 20 minutes to a half
an hour where we didn't have to listen to our
answering machine," Morgan sighed.
She expects to begin basic :astronaut training
by August. Training for her shuttle mission is
likely to take another year.
Her salary won't be astronomical. New astro-
nauts typically begin at the GS -11 pay grade,
$40,987 per year, John Lawrence, a NASA
spokesman in Houston, said.
Unlike Christa McAuliffe, the "teachernaut"
who died in the Challenger explosion 12 years
ago, Morgan will be full- fledged astronaut
with an accent on education.
"This is great news for education," she said.
"It's broadening the reach of the astronaut pro-
gram."
She likened the NASA assignment to teach-
ers' practice of leaving their students to learn.
Morgan, 46, who began teaching 24 years
ago, said she expected to return to a less exotic
form of teaching after her stint as an astronaut.
"At some point down the road, I'll be back in
the classroom," she said.
/yPv✓s -
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
NASA's Teacher in Space Pro-
gram has been well worth the
time, money and energy that it
has consumed the past five years,
according to those involved with
the program.
Since McCall - Donnelly Ele-
mentary School Teacher Barbara
Morgan was named Teacher in
Space following the January 1986
explosion of the space shuttle
Challenger, NASA has incurred a
variety of expenses to support her
role.
According to a summary pro-
vided by NASA at the request of
The Star -News, NASA has spent
nearly $198,000 over the past five
years in support of Morgan's ac-
tivities with the U.S. space
agency.
That total includes half of
Morgan's teacher salary paid to the
McCall - Donnelly School District
to reimburse the district for her
time away, as well as for various
travel and accommodation ex-
penses for her extensive touring
on behalf of NASA.
Morgan herself receives no
salary, benefits or other form of
payment from NASA for her in-
volvement with the Teacher in
Space program, according to
NASA.
Her association with NASA
has produced far more benefits to
the school than problems, M -D
Elementary Principal John Wall
said.
"It has made space exploration
a whole lot more personal for the
staff, the kids and myself," Wall
said. "Before, I kind of kept my
feet on the ground, but Barb
turned me onto space travel."
Morgan teaches school under a
team - teaching arrangement, this
year with Joan Butler in the third
grade, that is designed to limit dis-
ruptions for students when she
travels.
The shared- teaching plan has
worked well, although close coor-
dination is needed between Mor-
gan and her team partner, Wall
said.
NASA officials who oversee
the Teacher in Space program
agree with the program's worth,
and especially with Morgan's han-
dling of her job.
"She piobably represents the
teaching profession as well as
anyone you could pick within the
rank of teachers," said Dr. Ken-
neth Wiggins, head of the De-
partment of Aviation and Space
Education at Oklahoma State
University. OSU administers the
Teacher in Space program through
a cooperative agreement with
NASA.
"She is a very dedicated person,
very professional and very sensi-
tive to the needs of the kids,"
Wiggins said.
Wiggins noted that the program
went beyond Morgan activities
and into an entire array of pro-
grams that emphasize math and
science education. "I can't think of
any other activity that could have
been developed that would have
been as cost - beneficial," he said.
Morgan: I'm ready
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
Five years after being named
the nation's most visible teacher,
Barbara Morgan of McCall said
she is more determined than ever
to ride a space shuttle into space.
In an interview last week,
Morgan, NASA's Teacher in
Space, said that she does not
know when she will be scheduled
for a shuttle flight, but she has
put no personal deadline on herself
for being assigned to a space mis-
sion.
Five years ago this coming
Monday, Morgan and the rest of
the nation watched in horror as the
shuttle Challenger blew up in the
skies over Florida less than two
minutes after takeoff. Killed were
seven crew members, including
the first Teacher in Space, Christa
McAuliffe of Concord, N.H.
At that time, Morgan was the
backup Teacher in Space, and she
went through training for the ill -
starred mission side -by -side with
McAuliffe and the other astro-
nauts. Following the tragedy, she
was given the choice to step into
McAuliffe's shoes, which she ac-
cepted without hesitation.
In the five years since, she has
traveled tens of thousands of miles
to as far away as Austria to speak
to various groups about the value
of education and the benefits of
the space program.
She still travels about one
week per month for NASA and
stays up late each night when she
is in McCall studying reams of
materials sent to her by the
agency.
Morgan, 39, also has continued
to teach at McCall- Donnelly Ele-
mentary School, as she has done
for the past 16 years. She and her
husband, Clay, also have had two
children, Adam, 3, and Ryan, 1-
1/2.
"I'm not a different person, but
I've definitely grown from it,"
Morgan said of her NASA experi-
ences. "I've gotten a lot of real -
world experiences that I've been
able to bring back to class here in
McCall."
She said she still looks forward
Photo by Earl Brockman (See "Morgan," Back Page)
Teacher in Space Barbara Morgan talks about the past five years.
NASA program called valuable to kids
��/ N S ��a r / ��P 1 y s
t o b e i n g s c h e d u l e d f o r a m i s s i o n ,
w h e n e v e r t h a t m i g h t c o m e . " I ' m
r e a d y , a b s o l u t e l y , a n d I t h i n k N A S A
i s r e a d y , b u t I t h i n k t h e y w a n t t o
k n o w i f t h e p u b l i c i s r e a d y " t o a t -
t e m p t a n o t h e r t e a c h e r s p a c e l a u n c h ,
s h e s a i d .
O f f i c i a l l y , M o r g a n i s s t i l l e l i g i -
b l e f o r a f l i g h t , a l t h o u g h c r e w s h a v e
b o o k e d f o r s h u t t l e m i s s i o n s t h r o u g h
J u n e , 1 9 9 2 . N A S A ' s c u r r e n t p o l i -
c i e s s a y t h a t c i t i z e n s w i l l n o t b e a l -
l o w e d t o f l y o n t h e s h u t t l e u n t i l i t s
s a f e t y i s a s s u r e d . O n c e t h a t h a p p e n s ,
h o w e v e r , " f i r s t p r i o r i t y w i l l b e
g i v e n t o a ' T e a c h e r i n S p a c e , ' " t h e
p o l i c y s a y s .
M o r g a n s a i d s h e h a s s e t n o d a t e
a f t e r w h i c h s h e m i g h t d e c i d e s h e c a n
w a i t n o l o n g e r . " I t ' s t h e s a m e a s w e
t e l l o u r k i d s , w h i c h i s t h a t y o u s e t a
g o a l a n d y o u g o f o r i t , a n d y o u d o n ' t
q u i t i f y o u c a n ' t f i g u r e i t o u t i n 3 0
m i n u t e s , " s h e s a i d .
S h e a l s o t h i n k s s h e p r o v i d e s a n
i m p o r t a n t l e s s o n t o y o u t h s b y s t a y -
i n g w i t h t h e p r o g r a m . " T h e y s e e
t h i n g s o n T V a n d i t ' s a l l b l u f f a n d
b l u s t e r , u s u a l l y r i g h t b e f o r e t h e
c o m m e r c i a l , " s h e s a i d . " W e n e e d t o
s h o w o u r k i d s t h a t y o u h a v e t o t a k e
s o m e r i s k s t o l e a r n . "
O n M o n d a y , t h e a n n i v e r s a r y o f
t h e C h a l l e n g e r d i s a s t e r , M o r g a n w i l l
b e i n h e r c l a s s r o o m i n M c C a l l . T h e
o n l y s p e c i a l o b s e r v a n c e w i l l b e a
s a t e l l i t e v i d e o c o n f e r e n c e o n s p a c e
s p o n s o r e d b y T h e C h a l l e n g e r C e n -
t e r , a n e d u c a t i o n a l c e n t e r b u i l t i n
m e m o r y o f t h e l o s t c r e w .
M e a n w h i l e , M o r g a n w i l l c o n -
t i n u e d o i n g b o t h o f h e r j o b s a s b e s t
a s s h e c a n , w h i l e k e e p i n g h e r
N A S A r o l e i n p e r s p e c t i v e .
" W h e n p e o p l e a s k w h a t m y r o l e
w i t h N A S A i s , I t e l l t h e m m y r o l e
i s t o b e a g o o d t e a c h e r , " s h e s a i d
" W h e n I f l y , I w a n t e v e r y o n e
k n o w t h a t ' s a r e a l t e a c h e r f l y i n g '
5tcz'.e5�?Q v�
Idaho teacher still has eye on space
Darin Oswald / I ne mano JLaleSl I IdiI
Barbara Morgan, Idaho'steacher in space, hugs Jerry Helge-
son, presidentof the Meridian Education Association, on Fri-
day atthe Idaho Education Association convention in Boise.
Barbara Morgan
determined to fly,
despite tragedies
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
The Columbia disaster is
still difficult for Barbara Mor-
gan to talk about, but her de-
termination to go into space
is unshakable as ever.
Morgan was in a chase
plane waiting to meet the Co-
lumbia over Florida when the
space shuttle disintegrated
Feb. I over Texas. She spent
part of the day doing what
she could to help the families
of its crew, all of whom were
fellow astronauts and friends.
"I'd rather not go there ex-
cept to say that families were
taken care and are being tak-
en care of," she said when
asked about her role in the
events of Feb.1 while in Boise
Friday as the keynote speak-
er at an Idaho Education As-
sociation convention.
With a question about
whether she was having
second thoughts about her
own space mission, however,
the familiar Morgan smile re-
turned.
"No," she said. "The Inter-
national Space Station is still
flying, the investigating board
is looking into what went
wrong, and I have every con-
fidence that it will be fixed.
I'm still going. I just don't
know when."
An educator mission spe-
cialist and Christa McAuli-
ffe's teacher -in -space back-
up for the 1986 Challenger
flight, Morgan said the Co-
lumbia accident and investi-
gation have postponed the
planned Nov. 13 launch.
"I don't know how long the
delay will be," she said, "but
I don't think it will be a long,
long time."
NASA spokesman Doug
Peterson said Friday that
Morgan's flight "is probably
at least a year out from today.
It all depends on what hap-
pened to Columbia and how
to fix it."
Morgan's astronaut train-
ing at the Johnson Space Cen-
ter in Houston is continuing.
"It's practice, practice,
practice," she said. "We had
our first live runs for the
space walks last week. I'll be
the choreographer- director
inside the shuttle, directing the
guys outside."
The primary objective of the
planned 11 -day mission is to de-
liver a truss segment to the Inter-
national Space Station.
Idaho's astronaut took time Fri-
day to pay tribute to Idaho fire-
fighters who helped in the search
for debris from the Columbia.
"They've worked long, long
hours and been an inspiration to
everyone," she said. "We thought
we'd have to motivate them, and
they ended up motivating us."
Her message to the IEA was
characteristically upbeat.
"With all the changes and chal-
lenges in education, we're so lucky
that Idaho teachers still have a
strong connection with students
and teach the whole child," the for-
mer McCall third -grade teacher
said. "We should be very proud of
that and work to keep it."
S, rekrok3iC/0�- - -- / / /7/y.�
All S s ems G for Iao Teacher
t / 4 y
By Mark Warbis
Associated Press
NASA'S TEACHER
IN SPACE
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Barbara Morgan has
waited 12 years
■ Name: Barbara Radding
Morgan.
• Age: 46.
• Hometown: Fresno
• Education — Hoover High
School, Fresno, 1965 -69;
Stanford University, 1969 -73,
graduating with bachelor's
degree in human biology;
teaching credentials from
College of Notre Dame,
Belmont, 1973 -74.
■ Family: Husband, Clayton
Michael Morgan. Sons,
Adam Clayton Morgan, 10,
and Ryan Jacob Morgan, 8.
Associated Press
McCall, Idaho
In the 12 years since her friend and fel-
low teacher Christa McAuliffe died in the
Challenger explosion, Barbara Morgan has
heard the same question over and over.
"Not a day has gone by that people
tant. And that's part of my motivation for
making sure it still happens," said Morgan,
who was born in Fresno and attended
Stanford. "Every year we have a new gen-
eration of classroom students. Every year
there's more for us to learn about our uni-
verse."
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin
haven't asked me when I'm going to fly," said Morgan will be added to the astronaut
she said. roster for an unspecified flight.
Yesterday, the 46- year -old finally got
the go -ahead from NASA to begin training
for a shuttle flight. She will become Ameri-
ca's Teacher in Space.
`Frustrating' Wait
"It's been very frustrating that it takes
so long, but I know many astronauts who
have waited a lot longer, starting back in
the Mercury days," Morgan said last week
in her third -grade classroom.
Morgan was on the ground at Cape Ca-
naveral as the Teacher in Space backup
when the Challenger exploded Jan. 28,
1986, killing all seven astronauts, including
McAuliffe, a high school teacher from
New Hampshire.
The Teacher in Space program was put
on hold after the disaster because of safety
concerns.
Over the years, Morgan remained with
the program, underwent annual astronaut
physicals and, until cutting back last fall to
spend more time in the classroom, trav-
eled one week a month on education and
public relations duties for the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"What Christa was trying to do then
has not changed. All of that is really impor-
"We're tickled," said Steven Lowder,
superintendent of the McCall - Donnelly
School District. "It's like what one of the
employees said when I gave her the news.
She said, `I'm getting goosebumps, and I
think I'm going to cry.' We're pleased for
Barb because she has just put so much en-
ergy and dedication and commitment into
this."
Morgan, a mother of two boys, ages 10
and 8, and the wife of writer Clay Morgan,
said she remains in excellent condition.
Annoyed But Confident
She admitted being annoyed by the
long delay after the Challenger disaster,
but said she remained confident NASA
eventually would try to continue what
McAuliffe started.
"I'm in the business of education, and
teachers are persistent and patient," Mor-
gan said.
As for the risks, she said: "Safety is an
important issue, but living in a risk -free
world is a big mistake. If we are not willing
as a society to take some risk for learning,
for our future, then we are not doing
enough."
PG- i ,c- 3 I Df?N(, 67-1 —i3- -j?,sl
T-MMS 2 YEARS. AND COUNTING
McCall teacher
looks forward
to training,
space flight
By Marianne Flagg
The Idaho Statesman
Barbara Morgan would
search the sky through a tele-
scope from her California back
yard at a time when girls never
dreamed of being astronauts.
Now, the 46- year -old McCall
schoolteacher is two months
away from entering astronaut
training to fly on a space shuttle
mission. She could fly in as little
as two years.
She may get to fly on two
missions, she said Thursday, as
she prepared to move with her
family to Houston in late July.
Morgan's transition from
third -grade teacher in a small
Idaho town to the pinnacle of
the space program is a lesson in
going after what you want.
"I don't analyze anything I
do, I just do it," Morgan said.
She made up her mind to be
an astronaut as soon as she
heard teachers could apply.
Clay Morgan, her husband of
nearly 20 years, remembers the
moment: They were watching
TV when President Reagan an-
nounced plans to send a teacher
on a shuttle mission.
"We were sitting in McCall,
and it's snowing outside, and
the president comes on. I said
`Why don't they send a writer ?'
and she said, `I'm going for it.'
She's not fearless, but she's
pretty moxie."
She decided to have a child
soon after she saw Christa
McAuliffe die in the 1986 Chal-
lenger explosion. The two were
friends; Morgan had been cho-
sen as backup for McAuliffe,
the first Teacher -in- Space.
The couple now has two
sons, Adam, 10, and Ryan, 9.
Morgan's interest in science
started at home. She grew up in
Fresno, Calif. She and her
mother were outnumbered by
males. Morgan has one older
and three younger brothers.
Her physician father used to
bring home pictures of human
anatomy. He also gave her and
her brothers the backyard tele-
scope that helped spark her in-
terest in space.
"It was part of our lives. We
were interested in all kinds of
things," she said.
By high school and college,
she began to appreciate geolo-
gy, which she previously had
dismissed as "rocks."
She considered becoming a
doctor. She laughs today at the
preconceptions even her par-
ents had about what girls could
do. They wanted her to be a
dental hygienist, because it was
a good career for a woman until
she could get married.
Teaching wasn't on the hori-
zon.
"The last thing I wanted to be
was a teacher or a nurse, be-
cause that's what girls got to
be," she said.
By the time she entered Stan-
ford University, interest in
teaching caught up to interest
in science. She found both em-
bodied in biology professor
Donald Kennedy, who later
would serve for 12 years as
president of Stanford.
She loved the way he taught.
"In science courses, it's a lot
of memorizing and spitting it
out," she said. "He lectured, but
when it came to exams, you had
to take what you learned and
apply it to a different situation."
Kennedy remembers Mor-
gan as part of a new Stanford
program combining the biolog-
ical and social sciences.
"She started pioneering ear-
ly," Kennedy said. "It started
about the time she was a fresh-
man. Hers was the first full
class that had the entire pro-
gram. Stanford is very proud of
her."
While at the Stanford library
one day, she picked up a book
by Maria Montessori, founder
of the learning -by -doing educa-
tion system that bears her
name. She was intrigued by
new ways to teach. After Stan-
ford, she received her teaching
credentials at the College of
Notre Dame in Belmont, Calif.
"She was a natural -born
teacher," said Margaret Black-
ford, a San Mateo, Calif.,
schoolteacher who was a role
model for Morgan. More than
20 years ago, Morgan was a
student teacher in her class.
"The kids loved her," Black-
ford said. "They responded to
her, they worked for her. She
was genuine with them. She
was also very creative, very
bright and imaginative. She de-
veloped out -of- the - ordinary
projects with them. It seems to
me she did something on the
environment."
While Kennedy and Black-
ford piqued Morgan's curiosity
about teaching, a handsome
young English major fired her
interest in romance.
"I had just come back from
France, from the Stanford in
France campus, and visited a
friend at her dorm. Barbara
was there. She was so cute I
couldn't stand it. Bright and
cute and sweet and enthusias-
tic," Clay Morgan said.
He still talks about her like a
boy with a crush. Still smitten
herself, Morgan's brown -hazel
eyes gleam when she talks of
her "wonderful" husband.
They were an instant couple,
but before marrying they trav-
eled apart for a while, pursuing
their work. Each took separate
trips to Ecuador. Later, they
spent the first year of their mar-
riage there.
They share a sense of adven-
ture. Clay Morgan is a former
smokejumper, leaping from
planes to fight wildfires. They
enjoy cross - country skiing and
hope to get a flatwater canoe to
explore the Texas bayous.
Clay is looking forward to
spending more time with his
wife in Texas. She will have
more normal evenings than she
does as a teacher.
"She comes home and works
until midnight," he said.
She might even have time to
pursue her jazz -flute playing.
She loves to swim and run,
both of which will help prepare
her 5- foot -4 -inch, 115 -pound
body for the rigors of space.
Morgan knows that being an'
astronaut is risky. McAuliffe's
death showed her that. But she
doesn't dwell on it.
Her students have told her,
"`We don't want anything to
happen to you.' And I tell them,
`It's not. That's what we train
for.'"
Morgan, McAuliffe's backup,
never wavered about continu-
ing in the shuttle program.
"We partly have children be-
cause of what happened," she
said. "Kids are just an impor-
tant part of what goes on. Life
goes on through our children."
Morgan mentions McAuliffe
frequently, as though she were
near.
But she feels no pressure to
finish what her predecessor
started. She's drawn by the
chance to teach from the
world's most advanced class-
room.
Besides, she said, "There's
never any `finishing' for help-
ing education."
1D;�11c �7A�Tf::s,ti�Anl
Kim ttugnes i i ne mano titatesman
Teacher Barbara Morgan of McCall will enter astronaut training ir late July and may fly her first shuttle mission in as little as
two years. In her training, she will learn how to live, work and be safe in space.
AP file photo
Barbara Morgan trains with Christa McAuliffe, who was killed more
than a decade ago when the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
A few of Barbara Morgan's
favorite things:
Favorite books: Husband Clay Morgan's novel (natu-
rally) "Santiago and the Drinking Party;" Gabriel Gar-
cia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and
Gunter Grass' "The Tin Drum."
Favorite music: Classical, jazz, Irish fiddle, The Beat-
les.
Favorite foods: Ethnic (Mexican, Japanese, Italian),
salads; she expects she will love astronauts' top choice
in space, shrimp cocktails.
Favorite exercises: Swimming, running, cross -coun-
try skiing.
What she would take with her on the shuttle: Pictures of
her family, shuttle medallions, compact discs of Bach's
"Brandenburg Concertos," Irish flute and fiddle music
and guitarist Django Reinhardt.
What Morgan
will be doing
In August, Barbara Mor-
gan will begin a year of
training for her role as edu-
cator- mission specialist.
She will study and train in
a class of astronaut candi-
dates. After a year, she will
be assigned to a mission
and will train with her team
for another year.
Pa- 3 C7 3
Her mission could include
work on the international
space station.
Here is a sample of what
she will have to do in the
next year:
> Study science and en-
gineering on the shuttle.
She has to know how all
the engineering systems on
the shuttle work and how to
fix them.
> Learn Russian to work
with space station col-
) D, 4� tc S ,-3 T C5,nl /a /Y -
leagues.
> Undergo emergency
training.
> Learn shuttle opera-
tion through computer sim-
ulation.
> Take rides on a T -38
supersonic jet to become
accustomed to extreme
gravitational pull. A T -38
will pull about 5 g's. The
shuttle will experience
about 3 1/2 g's during
launch.
Barbara Morgan, center, experiences weightlessness while training with other women for NASA's
space program.
Houston, the Morgans don't have any problems
Catching up with astronaut -in-
training Barbara Morgan isn't easy.
She, husband, Clay, and their two
children left Idaho for Texas a few
months ago.
Here's an update on their activities:
Barb is doing great. She enjoys the
training and loves her classmates, a
mixed bag of military pilots, physi-
cists, engineers, a medical doctor and
a chemist — including three other
women as well as six international
astronauts, from Italy, Germany,
France, Brazil and Canada.
The Idaho third -grade teacher has
fit in just fine. Her classes include or-
bital dynamics, inertial measurement,
hydraulics, mechanics, electrical,
rocket motors, fuel cells, launch and
re -entry and something called "uni-
versal pointing."
The training includes lectures,
computers and full-scale simulators.
The astronauts are training for the In-
ternational Space Station as well as
for the space shuttle. They've been to
Navy SEAL land survival school in
Maine and parachute water survival
training in Florida.
For "space flight readiness," they
fly frequently in supersonic T38 jet
trainers. Barb and the other mission
specialists fly "back seat," working
communications, navigation and sys-
tems. They're learning to manage
many systems and work as a team,
while always maintaining "situation-
al awareness" of what's going on
CONNECTIONS
around them.
Clay has been authoring the
NASA Official History of Shuttle -Mir
Web site, which will start showing up
on the Internet in mid -June. He'll
teach a graduate fiction seminar at
the University of Houston, Clear
Lake, this fall, and is on UHCL's hu-
manities graduate program advisory
board. He recently helped Discovery
Pictures with the Houston premiere
of the new IMAX movie, "Wildfire,"
which features McCall smoke -
jumpers.
s���eS rn�-rn
Former Idaho
teacheris a
dull- fledged
astronaut now'
Barbara Morgan
gets to go to
space in 2004
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
It's taken 16 years, but
Idaho's Barbara Morgan fi-
nally has her date with a
space shuttle.
She just has to wait two
more years.
NASA Administrator
Sean O'Keefe announced
Friday at Syracuse Univer-
sity that Morgan will be the
nation's first "educator mis-
sion specialist." She will be
a crew member on a shut-
tle flight in 2004.
As Christa McAuliffe's
backup teacher -in- space,
Morgan was watching from
the launch site Jan. 28,1986
— the day McAuliffe and
six other crew members
were killed when the space
shuttle Challenger explod-
ed over Cape Canaveral.
"It is fitting that Mrs.
Morgan be the first educa-
tor to complete this mis-
sion," O'Keefe said. "She
trained with the Challenger
crew and was Christa
McAuliffe's backup. Since
the Challenger accident, she
has worked with NASA and
Courtesy of NASA
Former McCal I teacher Bar-
bara Morgan is scheduled
to ride in NASA's space
shuttle in 2004.
countless science organiza-
tions, keeping alive Christa's
inspiration and the dream
of an Educator in Space pro-
gram."
A former third -grade
teacher in McCall, Morgan
has been training at the Lyn-
don B. Johnson Space Center in
Houston since 1998. Now an as-
tronaut, she was participating in
a simulated shuttle mission Fri-
day and was unavailable for com-
ment.
"I know she must be very hap-
py," said Patricia Morgan of Boise,
her mother -in -law. "We're all hap-
py for her and her family to know
that she's finally going to get to
go. It's been frustrating for her to
have waited so long, but she en-
joys what she's doing down there.
She's a full- fledged astronaut
now."
U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R -Ida-
ho, had been lobbying NASA to
include Morgan, now 50, on a
shuttle mission. Asked why it had
taken so long, he said there was
"a slowdown after the 1986
tragedy because of administra-
tive concerns related to that
whole situation. I'm guessing the
delays have been due to a lot of
things, from budget issues to pol-
icy decisions about our space
program. We've had a lot of bat-
tles over the space program, as
well as efforts directed against
specific projects such as the
space shuttle."
As the home state of the first
educator mission specialist, Ida-
ho could receive special bene-
fits.
"I expect that because of the
Idaho connection, there will be a
special effort from both direc-
tions," Crapo said. "I assume the
Idaho Education Association
would go all out to make sure Ida-
ho schools participate to the max-
imum extent possible, and I'd ex-
4/ l 3 %-?_oo;A,-
pect that to be reciprocated by
NASA. I would think Idaho would
get some special attention, maybe
phone calls from space or a spe-
cial hookup for her to communi-
cate with Idaho students and
teachers."
Morgan's flight, O'Keefe said,
will be "the first of a series of
flights in the new Education Mis-
sion Specialist Program. Work-
ing in partnership with Education
Secretary Rod Paige, we will soon
release details of our national re-
cruitment program for follow -up
missions."
He expressed hope that
NASA's "new direction in this
area — in the person of Barbara
Morgan and those who will fol-
low her — will result in a new
crop of young, invigorated edu -;
cators who will see clearly the
importance of their contribution
to society. We will recruit teach -`
ers to educate students from the
unique vantage point of space."
Since leaving Idaho for astro
naut training in Houston, Mor-
gan has taken science and sur-
vival courses and learned to op
erate the space shuttle's electri-
cal, environmental, orbiting and
communications systems. Her
husband, author Clay Morgan,:;
has been teaching at a Houston
university.
"They like their work there, "„
Patricia Morgan said. "But they,
like Idaho a lot better."
The Barbara Morgan file
AGE: 50, born Nov. 28, 1951, in Fresno, Calif.
EDUCATION: 1969, Hoover High School, in Fresno; 1973,
Stanford University, bachelorof arts in human biology; 1974,
Collegeof Notre Dame in Belmont, Calif., nowcalled Notre
Damede Namur University, teaching certification.
FAMILY: Husband, Clayton Morgan; sons Adam Morgan, 14,
and Ryan Morgan, 13.
EXPERIENCE:Arlee Elementary School, Flathead Indian
Reservation in Arlee, Mont., 1974; McCall Elementary School
in McCall, 1975 -78, and 1979 to 1998; Colegio American6 de
Quito in Quito, Ecuador, 1978 -79.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as the backup candidate for
NASA's Teacher in Space Project on July 19, 1985. Trained
with Christa McAuliffe at the NASA Johnson Space Center in
Houston from September 1985 to January 1986. Spoke at
schools nationwide for NASA from March toJuly 1986. Training
at the Johnson Space Center since 1998
— The Associated Press
How to contact Morgan
Idaho students and teachers can contact Morgan by sending
mail to: Barbara Morgan, Johnson Space Center CB, 2101
NASA Road 1, Houston, TX 77058.
,5tot e es hJ o. 4--)
L/ / / 17 1-9—o D 2
An astronauts dream fulfilled
Barbara Morgan
looks to carry on
McAuliffe's goal
By Marcia Dunn
The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL,
Fla. — Barbara Morgan, the
teacher- astronaut tapped
to fly in space in 2004, said
Tuesday she will be carry-
ing on Christa McAuliffe's
mission and dream.
Morgan was McAuliffe's
backup for NASA's 1986
Challenger mission that
ended tragically 73 seconds
after liftoff.
"It's not that I'll be fulfill-
ing Christa's mission, but
helping carry it on," Mor-
gan told reporters before
heading over to Mission
Control to help coordinate
the spacewalk outside the
international space station.
Morgan said she often is
asked whether she will be
fulfillingMcAuliffe'sclass- have a new generation coming.
So there's no end point to educa-
tion, just like there's no end point
to the universe and the kinds of
things that NASA is doing to try
to explore that universe," she said.
She added: "I just see this, for
me personally, as one very lucky
step in what I hope will be going
on forever and ever and
ever, and growing and
growing and growing."
NASA Administrator
Sean O'Keefe announced
Friday that Morgan will fly
to the international space
station sometime in 2004,
after the preliminary ver-
sion of the outpost is com- Barbara
pleted. O'Keefe took part Morgan
in Tuesday's news confer-
ence, calling Morgan "a treasure
to this agency."
Morgan, 50, a former third -
grade teacher in McCall, said she
does not know whether she will
be assigned to a short space shut-
tle flight or a much longer space
station mission.
By then, 19 years will have
passed from the time Morgan and
McAuliffe were selected for
NASA's teacher -in -space pro-
room -in -space mission,
"and I have to disagree with
that, because the job of edu-
cation is never fulfilled.
"Every year you have a
new group of students. You
Christa McAuliffe, left, and
Barbara Morgan, right, laugh
with each other during training
in the months before the Chal-
lenger mission in which McAu-
liffe died.
gram. Back then, the space agency
required just months of training
for the two teachers. Now, Mor-
gan and future space educators
are required to go through full -
fledged astronaut training that
lasts one to two years.
"I've never felt I've ever wait-
ed," Morgan said. "I've worked,
and that's what we teachers do in
our classrooms every day, and
that's what the NASA astronauts
do every single day. They work
and work and work. When
the day finally arrives, it
finally arrives."
Morgan said she's been
" so busy with the ongoing
space shuttle and space
station mission that she
has not had time to talk
with McAuliffe's mother,
Grace Corrigan. NASA of-
ficials informed Corrigan
of their plan to renew fo-
cus on teaching in space and, by
doing so, hopefully inspire young-
sters.
"She's excited and happy, and
I'm glad for that. I know she's call-
ing my mom and saying, `Don't let
her do it," " Morgan said with a
smile.
McAuliffe was one of seven as-
tronauts killed in the Challenger
explosion. Morgan was close
friends with them all.
P5 m0kr
s /495 /GZ-
owe could get
NASAties
special benefits,
Sen. Crapo says
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
Barbara Morgan hopes to
go into space with a closer
relationship than ever to her
home state.
NASA announced last
month that the former third -
grade teactner from McCall
will be the nation's first ed-
ucator mission specialist.
Morgan, Christa McAuliffe's
backup for the ill-fated space
shuttle Challenger flight in
1986, is expected to be a crew
member on a shuttle flight in
2004.
Asked in a telephone in-
terview about U.S. Sen. Mike
Crapo's prediction that Ida-
ho could receive special ben-
efits as her home state, Mor-
gan said, "I certainly hope so.
I know NASA has been real-
ly good to Idaho, and
Idaho's been good to
NASA.
"I can speak for the
McCall - Donnelly
School in saying that
I'll continue to have a
very close relation-
ship with them and
also with the state's
universities and col-
Morgan has been
training since 1998 at
the Johnson Space
Center in Houston,
1- Texas, where the in-
terview was conduct-
.w
ed — with NASA pre-
cision— amid to -the-
Barbara second reminders of
Morgan the remaining time al-
lotted.
leges. Idaho is part of a
space -grant consortium that
does a lot of work with
NASA. I expect that to con-
tinue and to grow."
crew in orbit. I do that for the in-
ternational space station."
Astronaut Morgan learned the
basic and advanced shuttle sys-
tems and space station systems as
part of a crew of 31. Now she's
working with teams of two to four
people to receive specialized train-
ing.
"Right now it's robotics train -
ing," she said. "I'm getting com-
puter -based training for the space
station robotics system. Next
week, I go to Canada for a week
to work with the Canadians who
built the arm for the space shut-
tle. I'll learn how to manipulate
the arm and also get extra vehic-
ular training.... Later in the sum-
mer, I'll learn all the steps you
need to rendezvous with a satel-
lite or a space shuttle."
Her intense training schedule
has left little time to answer let -
Four years in Texas ters received after The Idaho
haven't quite made her a Statesman published a NASA ad-
Texan. dress where teachers and students
"Idaho is definitely still could write to her.
home in many ways, and we "I've received so many won -
still miss it," she said. "We derful letters from Idaho, and I ap-
hope we can get back for a preciate them all," she said. "But
visit this summer. At some there just hasn't been time to an-
point, I'd like to come back swer all of them. You have to stay
and teach again. I love work- focused on the job and the train-
ing with kids, and I.miss that ing, and there's so little time."
very much. But I'm also hop- Despite the long wait for her
ing to maybe fly (on space mission, she said she never felt as
missions) more than once. if she was waiting.
We'll just have to wait and "Teachers never wait," she said.
see what happens." "We work. I've been working the
Morgan and her husband, whole time."
author Clay Morgan, have
two teen -age sons. Clay, she
said, just finished a book on
the space station Mir pro-
gram and is beginning to
work on a screenplay.
While he writes, she trains.
"The next two years will
be more of the same," she
said. "You're always train-
ing, even in your technical
assignment, which comes af-
ter your initial training. My
technical assignment is a
mission control position. I
feel very lucky to have it.
We're the communicators
for the ground team with the
��
/ Z ��a o o 2 -
P h o t o s b y C h r i s B u t l e r / T h e I d a h o S t a t e s m a n
A s t r o n a u t B a r b a r a M o r g a n t a l k s S a t u r d m s s i o n s c h s c h e d u l e d t o h a p p e n i 2 0 0 4 . M o r g a n i s t r a i n i n g r t a u g h t
t t h e L y n d o n B S J o h n s o n p a c l e g a v e
e n t e r s n i d e
s h o w d e t a i l i n g h e r t r a g
H o u s t o n t o b e c o m e n a t i o n ' s f i r s t e d u c a t o r m i s s i o n s p e c i a l i s t a b o a r d a s h u t t l e f l i g h t .
M o r g a n k e e p s I d a h o . i n h e r
h p - a r t a s s p a c e t r i a n e a r s
M u s e u m a p p e a r a n c e d r a w s 2 0 0 f a n s
B y C h e r e e n L a n g r i l l
T h e I d a h o S t a t e s m a n
W i t h t h e p a t i e n c e o f a v e t e r a n
s c h o o l t e a c h e r , a s t r o n a u t B a r b a r a
M o r g a n w a r m l y g r e e t e d e a c h o f
t h e v i s i t o r s w h o w a i t e d i n a l o n g
l i n e t o s p e a k w i t h h e r a t N a m p a ' s
W a r h a w k A i r M u s e u m S a t u r d a y
a f t e r n o o n .
M o r g a n , m a k i n g h e r f i r s t I d a h o
a p p e a r a n c e s i n c e N A S A a n -
n o u n c e d i n A p r i l s h e w i l l b e a b o a r d
a s p a c e s h u t t l e m i s s i o n i n 2 0 0 4 ,
w a s m e t a t t h e m u s e u m b y m o r e
t h a n 2 0 0 w e l l - w i s h e r s , f a n s a n d f o r -
m e r s t u d e n t s . M o r g a n w a s a
t e a c h e r a t t h e M c C a l l - D o n n e l l y E l -
e m e n t a r y S c h o o l f r o m 1 9 7 5 t o 1 9 9 8 .
" T h e f a c t t h a t t h e y ' r e h e r e t o d a y
t e l l s m e t h a t w e w e r e a b l e t o c o n -
n e c t a l l t h o s e y e a r s a g o , " M o r g a n
s a i d . " I h a v e c a r r i e d t h e m i n m y
h e a r t , a n d n o w I k n o w t h a t t h e y
h a v e c a r r i e d m e i n t h e i r h e a r t s a s
w e l l . "
S e e M o r g a n o n p a g e 3
A s t r o n a u t B a r b a r a M o r g a n r e a c t s a t s e e i n g f o r m e r s t u d e n t J o e S p a g n o -
l a f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e s i n c e h e a t t e n d e d s e c o n d a n d t h i r d g r a d e s a t M c -
C a l I - D o n n e l l y E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l . M o r g a n t a u g h t a t t h e s c h o o l f r o m
1 9 7 5 ; t o 1 9 9 8 . H e r a p p e a r a n c e a t t h e m u s e u m w a s i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h
t h e v i s i t i n g W o m e n i n F l i g h t E x h i b i t i o n f r o m t h e
The crowd waited patiently to
meet Morgan. Although she was
scheduled for a three -hour ap-
pearance Saturday, she agreed to
stay late because she didn't want
to turn anyone away. She posed
for pictures, signed autographs and
chatted with each person she met.
Morgan's teaching background
helped her interact with younger
visitors who were eager to learn
about life in the space program.
Mike and Liz Buckingham of
Boise brought 8- year -old daugh-
ter Kathryn and her friend Halle
Fiderlick, 8, of Boise to meet Mor-
gan.
Kathryn, who enjoys reading
about space travel, brought a book
from home to show Morgan. The
book, "The Story of Flight," con-
tained photos of three people Mor-
gan has worked with during her
flight training.
"See that guy right there ?" Mor-
gan asked. "He's teaching me how
to walk in space."
"Neat!" replied Kathryn.
Kathryn and Halle enjoyed talk-
ing with Morgan about what it
might be like to be in space.
"I think it would be fun to float
around," Halle said.
"It would be fun to sleep while
you were floating," Kathryn added.
Morgan was joined at Warhawk
by Kay Gott Chaffey, a civilian pi-
lot for the Army Air Corps during
World War II. Both women ap-
peared in conjunction with the
traveling Women in Flight Exhi-
bition on loan from the Smith-
sonian Institution in Washington,
D.C.
'-7 12- 8
Chaffey spoke with museum
guests about her experience in the
Women Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP) program. She also re-
called her life as a young woman
in Canyon County. Chaffey was
born in Nampa and attended the
College of Idaho. Her aunt gave
her $50 to attend the Caldwell
school and Chaffey regularly hitch-
hiked from her Nampa home to at-
tend classes.
She later earned her pilot's li-
cense.
"My mom was scared spitless to
fly, but she volunteered to be my
first passenger," Chaffey said.
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne
and U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo also at-
tended the afternoon event. Kemp -
thorne presented Morgan and
Chaffey with small medallions that
featured the state seal.
"I'll really treasure this," Chaf-
fey said. "I'm honored to be here."
Morgan was selected as the
backup candidate to Christa
McAuliffe for NASA's Teacher in
Space Program in 1985. After
McAuliffe and the rest of the shut-
tle crew died in the Challenger ex-
plosion in January 1986, she con-
tinued to work with NASA. She
said she never considered quitting
the program after McAuliffe's
death, and that the program's con -
tinuation carries a powerful les-
son for children about never giv-
ing up.
I would have been more fear-
ful if we had stopped going into
space," Morgan said. "Imagine if
people like Kay hadn't taken any
risks. It's not just for risk's sake,
but for learning."
S
mace nouscon i i ne naavuaicu Flc
Former Idaho schoolteacher Barbara Morgan, left, autographs a picture for Digital Harbor High School student Victoria Barnes, 15, atthe Mary-
land Science Center in Baltimore on Thursday. Morgan was selected as a backup candidate for the 1986 Challenger mission, which ended in
tragedy, and now has her chance to be the first teacher in space in a November 2003 shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
Idaho's astronaut to fly in 2003
Barbara Morgan
never lost faith
after'86 tragedy
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
It's taken 16 years, but
Idaho's astronaut has her
date in space._
NASA Administrator
Sean O'Keefe announced
Thursday that Barbara
Morgan will make;RIlight
aboard the space , §huttle
Columbia on Nov. 13; 2603
— earlier than expected.
The shuttle will deliver
supplies, solar arrays and a
truss segment to the Inter-
national Space Station.
Morgan, who spent
Thursday in Washington,
D.C., and made the rounds
of the network morning
shows, is the nation's first
education mission special-
ist. In addition to her du-
ties in that capacity, she will
choreograph complex
spacewalks from inside the
Columbia.
Thursday's announce-
ment wa*the end of a long
wait for the former McCall
third -grade teacher. She
was Christa Mc'Auliffe's
backup as a teacher -in-
space for the ill -fated flight
of the ,space shuttle Chal-
lenger,,in 1986.
" Christa was, is and al-
ways will be our first
teacher in space, and I think
the thing I'm most excited
about is that this is a con-
tinuation" of the teacher -
in -space program, Morgan
told the Washington Post
on Thursday.
She predicted a bright f i-
ture for teachers in space.
"I'm really looking for-
ward to all the other teach-
ers who will be flying for
education in the years to
come," she said.
NASA plans to work
with the U.S. Department
of Education to recruit
more teacher - astronauts as
a way of interesting stu-
dents in math, sciences and
engineering. In time,
O'Keefe said, they will ac-
tually teach classes from
space.
. Morgan's mission may
have educational benefits
for Idahoans. She told The
Idaho Statesman in May
that as a teacher -in- space,
she hoped to have "a very
close relationship" with the
McCall - Donnelly School
District and the state's col-
leges and universities.
The teacher -in -space
program was canceled af-
ter the Challenger disaster,
but Morgan never lost faith.
Her dream of going into
space found new life in
1998, when NASA accept-
ed her as a full -time astro-
naut. She's been training at
the Johnson Space Center
in Houston ever since. She
currently works as a mis-
sion - control communica-
tor, relaying instructions to
orbiting astronauts.
Idahoans will have a
chance to see their teacher -
in -space next week. Mor-
gan will speak about her
upcoming mission at 7 p.m.
Thursday at the Discovery
Center of Idaho, 131 Myr-
tle. Tickets can be pur-
chased at the center or with
a credit card by calling 343-
9895.
at
aVa // X03
NASA Photo
Barbara Morgan participates in a reduced - gravity exercise in an airplane in1999. The exercise is designed to simu-
late conditions in space.
aa ra Morgan, or r
history grimly repeats itself
By Tim Woodward
The Idaho Statesman
t was Barbara Morgan's worst
nightmare repeating itself.
"I'm sure her mind went back to 17
years ago," her husband, Clay Morgan, said
from their home in Houston. "The widow of
the Challenger commander called today and
told me to let her know that the families of
the Challenger are sending their love to the
families of Columbia."
Barbara Morgan was in a chase
plane Saturday waiting for the Co-
lumbia when it exploded on re -en-
try over Texas, her husband said.
The former McCall teacher, who
was Christa McAuliffe's teacher -
in -space backup for the fatal Chal-
lenger flight Jan. 28,1986, had been
scheduled to fly a mission on the
Columbia in November.
Her husband said he didn't know
exactly what she saw of the Co-
lumbia explosion.
Morgan and a NASA pilot flew
to meet the shuttle coming in and
be a chase plane," Clay Morgan
said. "Then they were to land and
help the astronauts. My under -
standing is that she was in the chase
plane when they lost contact."
Morgan knew all of the astro-
nauts on board the Columbia.
"It has to be devastating for her,"
her husband said. "They were all
friends."
Clay Morgan got up early Sat-
urday morning, hoping to catch a
glimpse of the chase plane on tele-
vision as the Columbia landed. He
was tuned to the news and had the
Web site of the National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration
on his computer when the shuttle
disintegrated.
His wife called him after the
chase plane landed.
soriQr� ,a 5 , ,,? c-� �2, l �ztc3
"She didn't say what she was
able to see" of the accident, he said.
"She just called to say that she was
OK and very busy. Later, she called
back from crew headquarters,
where she was helping the fami-
lies of the crew.
"She was at crew headquarters
for the Challenger, too, and all she
did that day was work as hard as
she could to try to make people feel
better. She was comforting people
and taking calls for them, and that's
what she's doing this time.
"She's OK, but I can tell she feels
terrible."
At McCall's Winter Carnival
Saturday, residents said their
thoughts immediately turned to
Morgan when they heard about
the explosion.
"The first thing I thought was, I
hope Barbara Morgan wasn't on
that flight," said Cyndy Summers,
owner of Cabin Tracks. While talk-
ing to her children about the
tragedy and sadness over the lives
lost, Summers told them, "It's part
of being pioneers."
Morgan has waited 17 years for
her chance to go into space, which
seemed remote after the Challenger
disaster. The teacher -in -space pro-
gram was suspended, and 12 years
passed before she could begin as-
tronaut training again at the John-
son Space Center in Houston.
Now 51, she has finished her as-
tronaut training and has been re-
ceiving specialized training as an ed-
ucator mission specialist for a flight
to the international space station that
had been planned for next fall.
How Saturday's tragedy will af-
fect her dream of being the first
American to teach from space was-
n't certain.
"We're trying to figure out what
happened and see what impact that
will have on future flights," NASA
spokesman Don Sickorez told The
Idaho Statesman from Houston.
"If it was something absolutely
unique to this flight, things prob-
ably would proceed with other
flights. If it was something that
could happen to other shuttles, we
would ground the fleet and make
sure it never happened again."
Clay Morgan expects his wife's
flight, scheduled for Nov. 13, to be
delayed.
"It's likely because the Colum-
bia was her spacecraft," he said.
"My opinion is that they'll ground
the whole fleet until they make a
determination of what happened."
The Columbia was one of four
active space shuttles and, with 28
missions in 22 years, the oldest and
heaviest of the four.
Sen. Mike Crapo, who worked
with NASA to schedule Morgan's
flight, said Saturday that while the
accident should be fully investi-
gated, "we mustn't let it set us
back."
"We should learn from it, but I
hope it doesn't delay Barbara Mor-
gan's opportunity to participate in
the teacher -in -space program. It's
incredibly important not just to
her, but to the people of Idaho and
the children of America. If there's
something about this tragedy that
causes us to take time to study and
fix it, then we ought to do that. But
when we understand what caused
it, we should move forward."
Those who know Morgan best
say she's likely to want to move
forward quickly. Patricia Morgan,
her mother -in -law who lives in
Boise, said Saturday the tragedy is
likely to "make her as determined
as ever to go ahead. If they let her,
I think she'll go."
"It will probably make her even
more determined to do what's
right," Clay Morgan added. "If that's
to continue with the program, that's
what she'll do. A lot depends on
how long the grounding lasts."
Q_
PAGE A -8 - THE STAR -NEWS - THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2007
Astronaut Morgan drops in for video chat with M -D
Star -News Photo by Lucia V. Knudson
McCall Fifth grade teacher Anne Baldrica watches as second grader
Robin Cochrane reads his question to NASA astronaut Barbara
Morgan.
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
The Star -News
NASA astronaut and McCall -
Donnelly School District teacher
Barbara Morgan called on school
children at McCall Elemen-
tary School last week - live from
Houston, Texas - in advance of
her space flight slated for this
summer.
Morgan is scheduled for a two -
week mission at the International
Space Station later this year, but
no launch date has been set.
The video teleconference on
Wednesday went awry and ended
before Morgan could field ques-
tions from the audience.
The McCall elementary teach-
er, who is a NASA employee, was
able to answer selected questions
from students before mounting
technical interruptions cut short
the historic event.
Trouble failed to dampen the
students' spirit. They jumped to
their feet and waved at Morgan
in a cheer -filled goodbye.
Students were forewarned
they might lose connection by
Tony Leavitt, a NASA aerospace
education specialist.
"If the picture freezes, don't
get upset but remain quiet and
we'll use the time for questions
and answers," Leavitt said.
"What I've been told it really is like
you have a thousand pound gorilla
jumping on your chest and pounding
on your chest."
- Barbara Morgan describing
lift -off in the space shuttle
The special assembly started
about 15 minutes late as NASA
worked out last- minute details
with transmission at the studio
at its Johnson Space Center in
Houston.
"Like right now; there might
be another technical difficulty
right now - who knows," Leavitt
said.
During the lull, students
quizzed Leavitt about his job and
whether he had been to space.
"I love what I do; I get to work
with you guys all the time. It's a
lot of fun," he said.
But the closest Leavitt has got-
ten to a space shuttle flight was
in a simulator, he said.
Leavitt had visited the school
about a month ago to prepare
students for Morgan's electronic
visit.
The day before the assembly,
students
Leavitt, district technology di-
rector Andy Olavarria and the
district's technology contractor
setup the live feed via the Internet
in the gymnasium at McCall -
Donnelly High School.
A two -way system with video
camera and microphone acted as
Morgan's eyes and ears.
"Hi everybody, how are you ?"
Morgan asked, peering across
the gym. Her projected image
loomed larger than life upon the
gymnasium wall. She added she
was thankful for the technology
link with students.
To breakthe ice, Morgan asked
whether there was still snow on
the ground and who had been ski-
ing lately. Dozens of hands shot
up. Morgan reported weather
in Houston was 80 degrees and
rainy.
Morgan showed slides and
video clips as she answered the
pre - picked questions.
Questions included:
• Did a space launch feel like
a roller coaster ride?
• What was her favorite thing
about being an astronaut?
• What would she take to make
her trip more like home?
• How would she stay con-
nected to the space ship when
spacewalking?
"How did you guys come with
such great questions? Let me
guess - you guys are McCall and
Donnelly students," she said.
Lift -off is loud with a lot
of shaking and rattle, Morgan
said.
The force of acceleration
presses you into your seat, but
once engines cut off after about
eight minutes, the ride is quiet
and smooth, you can unstrap
your seat belt and float away,
she said.
"What I've been told it really is
like you have a thousand -pound
gorilla jumping on your chest
and pounding on your chest,"
she said.
Being an astronaut reminded
Morgan of being in school, work-
ing hard and lots of chances to
learn new things.
In reply to the question about
making space more like home, she
said, "I would love to take all of
you, I'd love to take all of McCall
all of home and all our family
and friends."
Morgan demonstrated with
a model of the space station
the work she would do on her
mission. After docking, she will
help attach a piece of truss and a
platform for spare equipment to
the station. The truss will support
solar panels.
Everything is tethered to the
ship and station, people and tools,
and astronauts must be mindful
of clipping tools when working,
she said.
Morgan showed a photo of
the McCall area from space,
pointing out Payette Lake, Little
Payette Lake and the ski runs of
Brundage Mountain Resort.
Space station crew members
work out for about two hours
every day, pulling on big elastic
cords or clipping into the pedals
of a still bicycle.
Students learned astronauts
did not exist when Morgan was
a second grader. At that time
about 50 years ago the U.S. space
program was shooting monkeys
into space.
But childhood interests led
her to seize the opportunity to
become an astronaut through a
nationwide competition in 1985
for the title of NASA Teacher
in Space.
Morgan said she loved look-
ing up at the stars and through
telescopes, hiking, exploring, and
camping out under the stars.
She advised students to re-
spond when opportunity comes
calling and that schooling is
preparation to meet opportuni-
ties when they come.
"If it's something you're
interested in, great, go for it. If
not, it doesn't matter," she said.
"The thing about that is, you
never know what's going to come
knocking on your door. If you're
prepared when those surprises
come knocking on your door, then
all these opportunities come up.
That's what happened, I got very,
very lucky."
�2rlZ
'l
Morgan invites all to watch space shuttle launch
BY BARBARA MORGAN
Dear friends and fellow Idahoans:
I want to thank you for the tre-
mendous support you have given
our family over the years.
I also want to invite you, your
family and friends to attend the
launch of America's space shuttle
Endeavour from Kennedy Space
Center, Florida, presently scheduled
for August 9, 2007. My STS -118 crew -
mates and I will be flying on a two
week mission to help construct the
International Space Station.
Please help us spread the word
that everyone is welcome. It is your
space program. A space shuttle
launch is a spectacular sight. For
many of us, it is a profound experi-
ence to watch a spaceship leaving
our planet.
There are many places in Florida
with a good view of the launch. You
might wantto consult the Internet or
a travel agency to investigate possi-
bilities, but you do not need to make
launch reservations or buy tickets.
Many of our family and friends will
be watching from the free public
beaches in Cape Canaveral and Co-
coa Beach. Be sure to take a radio
to listen to the countdown.
The launch date could change, so
keep up to date on it. Kennedy Space
Center has a Web site with launch
information.
When makinghotel reservations,
ask about "launch slip" policies.
Likewise, think about change
policies before you purchase airline
tickets.
I'll be in quarantine, so I can't
personally welcome you to Florida.
But there is a Web site you can go to,
with some helpful advice, and with
a comments page for people to share
information. It is: idaholaunch.
blogspot.com
Thank you! You are invited! Idaho
is in our hearts, and I will do my best
to float to a window and look down
on Idaho as the space shuttle orbits
overhead. I am proud to fly for teach-
ers and Idaho. I am excited to explore
space. I look forward to seeing you
all, after the mission.
(Barbara Morgan is an edu-
cator astronaut for NASA. She
has been on a leave of absence
as a teacher in the McCall -
Donnelly High School since she
moved to Houston, Texas, in
1998 to work full -time for the
space agency.)
Morgan's space shuttle
flight moved up to Aug. 7
NASA has moved up the space shuttle mis-
sionof McCall teacher Barbara Morgan by two
days to give more chances to lift off during
what looks to be a busy month.
Mission managers have
moved the launch of the
shuttle Endeavour to Aug.
7 from its original date of
Aug. 9.
The move will help .
ensure the shuttle launch
does not conflict with the
planned launches of a ro-
botic geologist to Mars and
a military communications
satellite, both planned for
August. Barb Morgan
Technicians at the
Kennedy Space Center have gotten Endeavour
readyaheadof schedule for its first flight since
late 2002. The shuttle underwent an intensive
maintenance overhaul.
"It adds a little flexibility to the sched-
ule," said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring in
Houston.
Endeavour will deliver another truss seg-
ment to the International Space Station. The
seven - member crew includes Morgan, who
was selected with Christa McAuliffe more
than two decades ago for NASAs Teacher in
Space project.
Morgan, 55, will be flying for the first time.
She was a backup to McAuliffe, who died in the
Challenger accident in 1986.
Endeavour's flight will be the second space
shuttle mission of the year.
"I learned
(and it's a lesson I have to keep
reminding myself of)
to pay attention to what's important and
let the other things go."
— Barbara Morgan
STS -118
MORGAN'S
MISSION
NASA Photo
Space shuttle Endeavour is shown in place at Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida early
Wednesday. The crawler - transporter on which the shuttle sits began a 3.4 -mile journey from an assembly
building to the launch pad starting Tuesday night, arriving at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The shuttle,
carrying McCall educator - astronaut Barbara Morgan, is scheduled to launch Aug. 7.
142-
O
Space shuttle that will carry
Barbara Morgan of McCall
rolled onto launch pad
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
HOUSTON - Barbara Morgan's students have long since
grown up, many now with children of their own. Still, there
is not a trace of exasperation in her voice, only gratitude
that NASA is finally making good on its pledge to send
another teacher into space.
The first attempt in 1986 ended in disaster with Christa
McAuliffe, of Concord, N.H., and six astronauts dying in
a nightmare explosion of the space shuttle Challenger
broadcast live worldwide.
On Tuesday, the shuttle Endeavour, the ship built to
replace Challenger, was rolled out to its seaside Florida
launch pad in preparation for a scheduled Aug. 7 launch
and flight to the International Space Station.
Morgan, a McCall elementary school teacher who
trained as McAuliffe's backup, will be aboard.
"It has taken a long time, but what I see in that is a les-
son in perseverance," said Cindy McArthur, who heads
NASA s Teaching From Space project at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston.
McAuliffe andMorganwere among 10finalists culledfrom
apoolof more than 11,000 teachers vying forthe opportunity
to fly on the shuttle. NASA intended to follow its Teachers
in Space program, which debuted in 1984 -just three years
after the shuttle program began - with flight opportunities
for journalists, artists and other private citizens.
From teacher to astronaut
The Challenger disaster exposed the shuttle's inherent
risks, prompting NASA to dump plans to fly anyone but
fully trained astronauts.
Morgan watched the Challenger launch from the roof
of a concrete building near the press stands at the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. She had trained for six months
alongside McAuliffe and the two had become fast friends.
"I learned so much from Christa," Morgan, now 55, said
during an interview last week. "I learned -and it's a lesson
I have to keep reminding myself of - to pay attention to
what's important and let the other things go, not to worry
so much about things. To Christa, what was most important
were people and their dignity, and her students."
Afterthe accident, Morgan returnedto teaching second'
and third - graders at McCall Elementary School. She also
agreed to continue on as NASAs designated Teacher in
Space, a role that entailed public speaking, educational
consulting, curriculum design and serving on a federal
task force.
See MORGAN, Page A -14
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At left, the crew of STS -118 crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday
for three days of training in preparation for the scheduled Aug. 7 launch. Morgan is
second from left. At right, Morgan listens to fellow mission specialist Benjamin Alvin
Drew, Jr. speak during a news conference last week at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Morgan does run - through in Florida for
shuttle launch with thoughts of Challenger
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the second
time in her life, Idaho school teacher Barbara
Morgan on Thursday was scheduled to climb
aboard a space shuttle poised for launch at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
She is due to settle into the middle seat on the
lower level of the crew cabin, the same position
where 21 years ago another teacher, Christa
McAuliffe, sat during the short and tragic flight
of Challenger.
Morgan, who is now a full- fledged astronaut,
and her six crewmates were set to take part in
a routine dress rehearsal for launch, one of the
final major training exercises before the shuttle
Endeavour, the ship built to replace Challenger,
lifts off on a construction mission to the Inter-
national Space Station.
NASA managers plan to meet next week
to set a firm date for Endeavour's liftoff, now
targeted for Aug. 7.
Dena Vu to 1985
Morgan's first foray into the crew cabin was
in 1985 when she was training as McAuliffe's
backup. She had hoped to fly after McAuliffe 's
safe return as NASA looked to use the high -pro-
file shuttle missions to interest children in math,
science and engineering by flying teachers.
McAuliffe, a New Hampshire high school
teacher, planned to conduct interactive lessons
while in orbit.
Schoolchildren instead learned of the dan-
gers of spaceflight. McAuliffe and six astronauts
were killed on Jan. 28,1986, when one of Chal-
lenger's booster rockets leaked fuel, triggering
an explosion 73 seconds after liftoff.
NASA had known of problems with joints
on the boosters before the flight but did not
believe it posed a serious threat to the ship or
the safety of the crew.
See MORGAN, Page A -14
Shuttle is an-out-of-this world classroom
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
Teacher - turned - astronaut Barbara Morgan
sees lessons everywhere. When she operates
the shuttle's robot arm during the space shuttle
Endeavour's mission, it will be geometry in
motion.
When the International Space Station's new
support beam gets snapped into place during the
STS -118 mission, it will be engineering alive.
'As teachers, we're always looking for those
real -world examples," said Cindy McArthur, a
former teacher who heads a NASA educational
outreach program at the Johnson Space Center
in Houston.
"That's why I think spaceflight translates so
perfectly into a classroom setting," McArthur
said. "These are things that we do on Earth.
Children can imagine themselves doing exactly
the same thing. It's a good lesson."
NASA hopes to spark children's interest in
math, science and engineering with programs
tied to Morgan's upcoming flight on the space
shuttle, set to launch Aug. 7.
The projects include designing plant growth
chambers that could work aboard spaceships,
the moon or Mars; a fitness challenge; and a
pennant design competition. Teachers, parents
and students can learn more about NASAs edu-
cational programs by following the links on the
STS -118 mission page at wwwnasa.gov.
The projects include:
See MISSION, Page A-14
STS -118
MORGAN'S
MISSION
The Story of the STS -118
Patch
The graphic below shows
the STS -118 patch, to be worn
by McCall educator - astronaut
Barbara Morgan and her fellow
crewmates during their space
shuttle flight.
The
patch
represents
Space
Shuttle
Endeav-
our on its
mission �.
to help
complete
the as-
sembly of
the International Space Station
and symbolizes the pursuit of
knowledge through space explo-
ration, according to NASA.
The flight will accomplish its
assembly tasks through a series
of spacewalks, robotic opera-
tions, transfers and the exchange
of one of the three space station
crew members.
On the patch, the top of the
gold astronaut symbol overlays
the starboard truss segment,
highlighting its installation on
the space station during the
mission.
The flame of knowledge
represents the importance of
education, and honors teachers
and students everywhere.
The seven white stars and the
red maple leaf signify the Ameri-
can and Canadian crew members
flying aboard Endeavour.
,51,4,40"
7 /,��o
v
Photo For The Star -News by Kim Christensen
Space shuttle mission specialist Barbara Morgan shows a bag that will grow basil seeds in space to a group of students that partici-
pated in an educational event last week at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Holding the bag is STS -118 Commander Scott Kelly.
IN CHRIS S
"What happened
with Challenger
was wrong but what
the crew and what
NASA was trying to
do was absolutely
right. I'm grateful
that we're
continuing on."
Barbara Morgan
P �f_3
PAGE A -14 - THE STAR -NEWS - THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2007
Morgan prepares for launch with thoughts of Challenger
Morgan
(Continued from Page A -1)
Similar thinking led to the
2003 Columbia disaster, which
was tied to a piece of foam debris
falling off the fuel tank during
launch and damaging the ship's
heat shield. As Columbia de-
scended through the atmosphere
for landing, the heat shield failed,
triggering the ship's destruction
and the deaths of another seven
astronauts.
"We mourn the loss of our fel-
lowastronauts, yetwe understand
it's worth it. We want to con-
tinue with manned spaceflight,"
said Endeavour pilot Charles
Hobaugh, who as Columbia's
communications liaison at Mis-
sion Control was the last person
to speak to the crew. "We respect
all those that are left behind, yet
we still press on."
No one embodies the senti-
ment more than Morgan, now 55,
and the mother of a college sopho-
more and a high school senior.
The science and math classes
NASA wanted to teach from
space have taken a back seat to
what Morgan considers a higher
priority lesson in fortitude.
"What happened with Chal-
lenger was wrong but what the
crew and what NASA was try-
ing to do was absolutely right,"
Morgan said during an informal
briefing with reporters at the base
of the launch pad on Wednesday.
"I'm grateful that we're continu-
ing on."
Commitment Important
Morgan agreed to stay on as
NASAs designated Teacher -in-
Space after Challenger's demise
because she felt it was important
to show children to stick with a
commitment even - and espe-
cially - in the face of failure.
"We had school kids all over
the' world looking at adults and
watching what adults do in a
bad situation, and I felt it was re-
ally important to show them that
adults do the right thing," Mor-
gan said. "I've carried that with
me ever since. I'm personally very
excited about going into space,
but that's not my motivation. I'm
here because of that and because
I'm a schoolteacher."
Morgan doesn't need to look
far to find someone who absorbed
her lesson. Her crewmate, Tracy
Caldwell, was a teen -ager when
the Challenger was getting ready
to launch, and it inspired her to
become an astronaut.
"I'm standing here and it's
quite an awesome feelingto know
that it was that motivation I felt
watching the nation get excited
over Christa McAuliffe and their
mission that propelled me to do as
well as I did in school and to try as
hard as I did," Caldwell said.
Morgan's main job is to oper-
ate the shuttle's robot arm and
oversee the transfer of cargo to
and from the station. She won't
have much time for lessons from
space, such as what McAuliffe
Planned to conduct. But the
crew is flying 10 million basil
seeds which will be distributed
to students and two prototype
plant growth chambers that will
be left on the space station to test
how plants grow in space.
Education Will Happen
After the Mission
NASA has organized several
educationalprograms in conjunc-
tion with Morgan's flight, but
most will be developed after she
has returned and when schools re-
sume from summer vacations.
The projects include an en-
gineering design challenge for
students to develop plant growth
chambers suitable for space. The
project aims to interest kids in
technologies needed for people to
colonizethe moon, Mars and oth-
er bodies in the solar system.
Another project encourages
healthy eating and regular ex-
ercise, a lifestyle practiced by
astronauts that NASA would like
to spread to the general public
as well.
But the most important lesson
Morgan and her crewmates would
liketo impart is the importance of
discipline and self-fulfillment.
"Flying in space is an incred-
ible privilege, but the best part
about itfor me personally is work-
ing in aprogram that is incredibly
complex, incredibly difficult,
and working hard at it and being
successful," said Endeavour's
commander, Scott Kelly.
"That is something that kids
can experience themselves," he
added. "They can work hard at
something, be successful at it,
and then be proud of themselves
for it."
Mission
(Continued from Page A -1)
• Humans in Space with
STS -118: A site for K -12 teach-
ers that has classroom activities
tying into human space explora-
tion. Topics include life sciences,
physical sciences, science process
skills and science, technology
Morgan Biography
Here is a brief biographical
sketch of NASA educator- astro-
naut Barbara Morgan:
Born: Nov 28,1951, in Fresno,
Calif.
Family: Married to novelist
Clay Morgan. Two sons, Adam,
19, and Ryan, 18.
Salary: $129,650 per year.
Education: Hoover High
School, Fresno; bachelor's in
human biology from Stanford
University; teaching credential,
College of Notre Dame, Belmont,
Calif.
Organizations: National
and society. Live teacher training
sessions begin Monday. Web site:
www.us-satellite.net/stsII8.
• International Technology
Education Association: Work-
shops for teachers who want to
learn about the STS -118 Design
Challenges. Web site: www.itea-
connect.org.
- Sally Ride Science: Educa-
tor institutes for elementary and
middle - school teachers wanting
to learn how to use Morgan's mis-
sion to foster science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.
Web site: www.sallyrideeduca-
tors.com.
Additional resources are avail-
able at the Teacher in Space Web
site, www.teacherinspace.org,
and the Challenger Learning
Centers' Web site, wwwchal-
lenger.org.
Education Association, Idaho
Education Association, National
Councilof Teachersof Mathemat-
ics, National Science Teachers
Association, International Read-
ing Association, International
Technology Education Associa-
tion, Challenger Center.
Work experience: Flathead
Indian Reservation, Arlee, Mon-
tana; Colegio Americano de
Quito, Ecuador; McCall- Donnelly
Elementary School.
Teaching philosophy: "I
believe that we all learn best
by doing and by being actively
engaged in our learning."
NASA Photo
Educator astronaut Barbara Morgan of
McCall dons a flight suit in preparation
for training for her space shuttle
mission, scheduled to launch Aug. 7.
Three other teachers get chance
to fly after Morgan
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
HOUSTON - It took more than two decades
for NASA to be ready to launch another teacher
into space, butthe path into orbit should be much
shorter for colleagues wishing to follow Barbara
Morgan's footsteps.
Three more teachers have been accepted into
NASAs elite astronaut corps following Morgan's
unprecedented career switch in 1998. Morgan,
a former McCall elementary school teacher, is
scheduled to fly aboard space shuttle Endeavour
on Aug. 7.
See TEACHERS, Page A -14
Teachers
(Continued from Page A -1)
Originally trained as the back-
up to Teacher -in -Space Christa
McAuliffe, Morgan has waited
more than 21 years for a chance
to fly in space. McAullife and her
crewmates were killed in the 1986
Challenger accident.
NASA banned civilians from
the shuttle after the accident,
but ultimately decided to offer
Morgan a chance to train as a full -
fledged astronaut and become
eligible for flight assignment.
In2004, NASA extended invita-
tions to three more teachers:
• Joe Acaba, a middle school
teacher from Dunnellon, Fla.
• Ricky Arnold, a math and
science teacher at the American
International School in Bucha-
rest, Romania.
• Dottie Metcalf Lindenburger,
a high school science teacher
and cross country coach from
Vancouver, Wash.
All three have completed basic
training and are awaiting flight
assignments. NASA has just 12
more construction missions to
the International Space Station
�SC.QJti b l�%LP�G
planned before the shuttle fleet
is retired in 2010.
The agency also would like to
fly two resupply missions to the
orbital outpost and make a final
servicing call to the Hubble Space
Telescope.
There are other flight opportu-
nities, however. Upon completion,
the size of the live- aboard space
station crew will double from
three to six astronauts, with half
the slots reserved for the United
States. As fully trained astro-
nauts, the teachers should be
eligible for those assignments.
"I would hope that there
are plans for that," said Cindy
McArthur, who heads NASAs
Teaching From Space program
at the Johnson Space Center in
Houston.
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high city, Barbara Morgan reached a height far greater
BY
—NE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --
McCall teacher - turned - astronaut
Barbara Morgan on Wednesday
flew into space atop the space
shuttle Endeavour in a flawless
launch from Kennedy Space Center
in Florida.
Morgan entered Earth's or-
bit more than 21 years after she
watched friend and colleague
Christa McAuliffe die when the
shuttle Challenger exploded a
minute after blast -off.
At precisely 4:36 p.m. Mountain
Time the shuttle's booster rockets
roared to life, spittingtwin columns
of flame and smoke as it heaved the
winged ship into the sky.
The launch came at the precise
moment that Earth's rotation
brought the shuttle's Cape Canav-
eral, Fla., launch pad in line with
the orbiting International Space
Station, Morgan's destination.
Endeavour arced out over the
Atlantic Ocean, bathingthe Florida
marshlands with a thunderingroar
that fanned out for miles over the
peninsula.
"The weather is great. Endeav-
our's ready to fly," shuttle launch
director Mike Leinbach told the
crew .shortly before liftoff. "Good
luck and godspeed and have some
fun up there."
"We'll see you in a couple of
weeks," replied commander Scott
Kelly. "Thanks for loaning us your
space shuttle. "
Husband, sons watched
At a guest viewing area a few
miles away, Morgan's husband,
Clay, and their two sons watched
the shuttle blast off, the culmina-
tion of quest that began on a cold
January morning in 1986.
Wednesday's launch came 21
Years after she agreed to replace
McAuliffe as NASAs Teacher in
Space and nine years after she went
to work for NASA to be trained as
a full- fledged astronaut.
See MORGAN, Page A -16
MORGAN'S
MISSION
Morgan
(Continued from Page A -1)
Morgan and her crewmates
will rendezvous with the space
station on Friday.
When they get there, they plan
to attach a new structural beam
to the station's main external
truss.
Other tasks include replacing
a balky gyroscope that is needed
to keep the outpost properly posi-
tioned in orbit, and deliver more
than 5,000 pounds of cargo.
"She's an astronaut who used
to be a teacher," NASA adminis-
trator Michael Griffin said in an
interview. "She's an arm operator
on this mission and the guys tell
me that she's a good one."
`An effective ambassador'
In her spare time, Morgan
Plans to conduct some teacher -in.
space activities, such as fielding
questions from schoolchildren
at museums and science cen-
ters. More in -depth educational
initiatives are planned for after
Morgan's return.
"What an effective ambassa-
dor (for education) she's been this
whole time," said NASA launch
commentator George Diller. "She
never let goof the classroom."
Morgan eventually plans to
return to classroom teaching,
trusting that three more teach-
ers who have since joined the
astronaut corps will carry on in
her footsteps.
"This mission is symbolic,"
Morgan said before her launch.
"I know that people will be
thinking about not just Christa,
but the Challenger crew and the
Challenger mission. And that's a
good thing."
"I know they will be think-
ing about so many people over
the years, the families, friends,
colleagues and people the Chal-
lenger crew never ever even knew
who, for so many years, have been
working so hard at continuing on
their work and their dreams,"
she said
Morgan and her crewmates
— commander Scott Kelly, pilot
Charles Hobaugh, flight engineer
Rick Mastracchio, Canadian
Space Agency astronaut Dave
Williams and mission special-
ists Tracy Caldwell and Al Drew
— planned to begin work as soon
as they reached orbit.
First on the list: an inspection
of the shuttle's wing panels and
nosecap to make sure there is
no damage from debris strikes
during liftoff.
The scans are part of safety
upgrades made after the 2003
Columbia accident, which was
caused by a piece of foam debris
fallingoff the fuel tank duringlift-
off and striking a wing panel.
The damage caused the Co-
lumbia's heat shield to fail as it
flew through the atmosphere for
landing 16 days later, killing all
seven astronauts on board.
Endeavour was on schedule
to reach the space station for a
seven- to 10 -day joint mission
with the resident crew.
Endeavour's flight, the 119th
Photo by Michael R. Brown
PRE - LAUNCH GATHERING - An informal gathering of family
and friends of astronaut Barbara Morgan was held Monday at
Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Among those attending
were Morgan's husband, Clay, middle sons Ryan, 18, (white
shirt) and Adam, 19 (blue shirt). The Morgans are greeted by
Beth Jackson and her father, Doug Jackson, live in Houston.
in shuttle program history,
clears the way for a milestone
mission scheduled for October
when NASA flies a connecting
module needed to hook on partner
laboratories built by Europe and
Japan to the half -built $100 - billion
orbital outpost.
The agency needs to flyat least
11 more construction missions
to the space station within three
Years when the space shuttles are
to be retired.
NASA also would like to fly
two resupply missions to the
station and a final servicing call
to the Hubble Space Telescope
before then.
�Atwa
,9/1/07
3 0
?1�2
Clay Morgan, left, and his wife, Barbara, decided soon after the Challenger disaster that
they should have children. The result was two boys, Adam, now 19, and Ryan, now 18.
The Children of Challenger
BY ]MENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
Barb and Clay Morgan were
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The ex- inspired in
plosion of the space shuttle Challenger
in 1986 left 11 children without mothers start the
and fathers, but it triggered a life -chang-
ing realization for Barbara and Clay
Morgan. N
They wanted to be parents. "Barb and
In less thantwo weeks, former McCall
teacher Barbara Morgan is scheduled
to blast off aboard the space shuttle
Endeavour with six NASA astronauts
to parlay her experiences in orbit into
classroom curriculum.
Morgan's not worried about getting a part oI o
her own two sons ready for school.
They're pretty much grown. -
Adam, the first -born, is aboutto begin
his sophomore year at University of Texas in Austin, and
Ryan is an 18- year -old high school senior in Houston, where
the family has lived since 1988.
The boys were not yet born when their mom first trained
to fly in space, back in the mid -1980s when NASA decided to
open seats in the shuttle crew cabin to civilians who would
promote education and build public support for the agency's
programs.
The stunt ended disastrously, with New Hampshire high
school social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe and her
wake of tragedy to
it own family
crewmates on Challenger crashing
into the ocean after a rocket fuel leak
triggered an explosion 73 seconds into
the flight.
`Incredible' Children
Clay and Barbara Morgan were at
both realized the l;ennedy Space Center in Florida
that cold morning of .Jan. 28, 1986,
watching the launch with family mpm-
at we bers and friends of the shuttle crew.
Barbara Morgan had trained as
to be McAuliffe's backup, ready to step in at
a moment's notice if her friend and col-
t I Ives ■ league had caught a cold or something
and couldn't make the trip.
After the disaster, Clay Morgan
- Clay Morgan noticed something remarkable
"The children of the Challenger
astronauts were so incredible," he said in an interview.
"The older children were helpful and brave. The younger
children were being little kids," Morgan said. "Barb and I
both realized at that moment that we wanted children too,
to be apart of our lives."
After the accident, NASA did call on Morgan to stand in for
McAuliffe and eventually fly on the shuttle. It took nearly 22 years
and required her to formally enlist in the astronaut corps, but
the perky 55- year -old is about to make good on her pledge.
See CHILDREN, Page A-12
at that moment th
wanted children too,
gy
u
C, (. �- ,
s. f
Children: Challenger disaster inspired
Morgans to raise kids of their own
(Continued from Page A -1)
She'll spend about two weeks
aboard Endeavour, the replace-
ment ship for Challenger, on a
construction and resupply mis-
sion to the International Space
Station, a $100 - billion project
of the United States, Russia,
Canada, Japan and a dozen Eu-
ropean nations.
It will be NASAs 119th flight
of a space shuttle, with just 14
missions remaining before the
three -ship fleet is retired in
2010.
Morgan's commitment to fly
was tested not only when the
Challenger crew perished, but
also after NASAs second fatal ac-
cident in 2003. Seven astronauts
died when shuttle Columbia
attempted to fly through the
atmosphere for landing with a
broken heat shield.
Unbeknownst to NASA, Co-
lumbia's wing had been struck
and damaged by debris falling off
the fuel tank during liftoff.
Contagious Courage
"I think I will be nervous on
the day of the launch, but I'm tak-
ing my cues from Barbara and the
shuttle crew," Clay Morgan said.
They have this- it's just obvious
this workman -like courage," he
said. "They made a decision based
on risks and goals that this was
really worth it and so they've put
aside any type of fear."
"They've been really careful
trying to be as safe as they can,
but it's amazing to watch them
together, how calm and collected
they are about the whole thing,"
he said. "Some people say fear is
contagious, but courage is kind
of catchy too."
As a writer, Clay Morgan was
affected by Challenger as well.
He rewrote the philosophical ad-
venture novel he was working on,
titled "Santiago and the Drinking
Party," paying more attention to
his characters' dark sides.
"After the Challenger acci-
dent, I noticed that my earlier
writing had lacked a lot of depth
and it lacked a lot of darkness
and darkness makes what is light
stand out," he said. "I went back
through and rewrote the book
and it got to be a darker book,
but the light in it shines brighter,
I think."
Clay Morgan dedicated the
book to the Challenger crew. His
wife offered to fly a copy of it, or
any other token her husband de-
sired, when she finally embarks
on her adventure 22 years in the
making.
Neither Clay Morgan nor
their children asked her to fly
anything, Barbara Morgan said
in an interview. "Clay just said, `I
want you back.'" -hp ca;rl
Star -News File Photo
Newly -named Teacher in Space Barbara Morgan speaks to McCall - Donnelly Elementary School
students in February 1986, two weeks after the Challenger disaster. She told the students that
taking risks is part of learning.
Morgan lives the dreams of those who had tov shins
BY KRISTEN r,
same reason we so desperately want Challenger blew up. All through
We still call her a teacher in her to do it. Perhaps we've become third grade I was oblivious to the
space because we still love the idea disillusioned with our world where streaming wreckage falling from
that anyone can be an astronaut. Of adventures among the stars seem the sky and what that meant to
course nowadays it's become easier like distant fantasies. Barbara and her bi- monthly trips
and easier. Where is our John Kennedy, to Houston.
Should an ex -boy band member telling us that, that perhaps mani- I remember Mrs. Butler and
go to space? Should a 54- year -old fest destiny doesn't exist in Iraq her chocolates more than Mrs.
British record company tycoonblast or Cuba, but perhaps we're ready Morgan. Her absences were more
off in his own shuttle? Should a for something more. Are we using fascinating than her presence.
teacher from a small town in Idaho Barbara Morgan to foolishly make Every time she'd come back we'd
- as a consolation prize? ourselves believe that dreams come ask her what she'd learned. Her
Why does Barbara do it? In a life true and that the answers exist in education was going on just the
surrounded by death, why did she the stars? same as ours was.
choose to press on? Perhaps for the I was six months old when the We want Barbara to succeed
�-
because we can't bear to accept that
we aren't living in a dreamworld
anymore. We just couldn't stand to
see another group of innocent chi1-
dren with confusion in theirfaces as
flames reflect in their watering eyes.
To every one of us who dreamed of
being an astronaut when playing
with toy ships, we want Barbara to
go there for all of us.
(Kristen Grote, who attends
the University of Idaho, was a
third -grade student of NASA
educator - astronaut Barbara
Morgan.)
T
Q
qW
Space shuttle mission specialist Barbara Morgan of McCall pauses for a photo while performing her
duties on the Endeavour, which is orbiting the Earth mated with the International Space Station.
Greetings from S -Pace. I
Barbara Morgan stays busy with shuttle chores,
but spares time to talk to students
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
OUSTON - Idaho schoolteacher
Barbara Morgan soaredtoward
the midway pointof hermission
in the space shuttle Endeavour
on Wednesday aftera week filled
with a lot of work and a little play.
Morgan has been floating freely in
Earth's orbit since the launch of the shuttle
Aug. 8 and subsequent docking with the
International Space Station.
On television broadcasts from space,
Morgan's long hair bloomed like a sea
anemone, and she conducted her business
dressed in a lime -green shirt and khaki
carpenter pants.
Since the mission started, she flew the
shuttle's robot arm. She aimed TV cameras
during spacewalks. She hauled bags of food
and clothes over to the space station, where
the shuttle parked last Friday.
And on Tuesday, after a 21 -year wait, she
fulfilled the dream of NASAs first teacher -
in -space Christa McAuliffe to give a lesson
to students from space.
McAuliffe and six astronauts died in the
1986 Challenger disaster, leaving Morgan,
her backup, with a mission that changed
her life. NASA would no longer fly guests
on the shuttle, so nine years ago Morgan,
now 55, joined the astronaut corps to be-
1*
come full- fledged member of the shuttle
Endeavour crew.
Mission Extended
With a space station to finish building
and only 11 more shuttle flights to get the j ob
done, NASA has little time for educational
or any other activities during missions.
But a power converter, flying for the
first time on Endeavour, lets the shuttle
tap the station's electricity, saving enough
chemicals for NASA to keep Morgan and
her six crewmates in space for at least an
extra three days.
That will give Morgan a chance for
more question- and - answer sessions with
students, including a short session with
McCall students set for 9:14 a.m. today at
Payette Lakes Middle School.
On Tuesday, children gathered atthe Dis-
covery Center in Boise to talk with Morgan
and three of her orbital companions, Alvin
Drew, Dave Williams and space station flight
engineer Clay Anderson.
The scripted event was a far cry from
what McAuliffe planned, but the children
laughed at the astronauts' antics, which
includedfloating after a giant red juice drop
and a slow- motion baseball pitch.
They learned that stargazing in space
isn't as romantic as it may sound.
See MORGAN, Page A -12
'The whole firSt daY I fell It There's t
that. no preparing for experience
enjoy and t used to."
— Barbara Morgan-
MOR6AN'S
MISSIONS
—MISSION IEF
First Lady Laura Bush calls
Barbara Morgan on eve
of space shuttle launch
First Lady Laura Bush called
NASA astronaut and former McCall
resident Barbara Morgan on the
eve of the scheduled launch of the
shuttle Endeavour to the Interna-
tional Space Station.
In her call on Aug. 7, Bush ex-
pressed congratulations from one
schoolteacher to another and not-
ed that she and President Bush
appreciate Morgan's commitment to
America's spaceprogram, toteaching
See BRIEFS, Page A -14
t spares time stronau p to talk to students
segment to the station's expand- imagine," Morgan said. "Even
ing backbone and deliveredmore with all the pictures that you've
than 5,000 pounds of science seen, to see it in real life, it's
equipment, food, clothing and amOn Tuesday, Morgan was back
other supplies.
Even with all the preparations working on the flight deck of the
for the flight -- Morgan, for exam- shuttle Endeavour deftly steering
ple, was assigned to the mission the ship's crane. She nosed its
in 2002 -- there were still plenty end into the shuttle's open cargo
of surprises when the astronauts bay to latch on to an equipment
finally reached orbit. platform that needed to be at-
tached to the space station and
Upside -down feeling slowly hauled the catch up into
open space.
"The whole first day I felt like The 3.5 -ton platform passed
I was upside- down," Morgan inches from the laser scanner
said. "There's just no preparing berthed along the ship's sill. Fi-
for that. It's just something you nally inthe clear, Morgan notched
experience and enjoy and get up the speed abit andhandedover
used to." the storage unit to the station's
The most impressive moment robot arm.
though was docking with the When her crewmates asked
space station and boarding the how she was doing, Morgan re-
outpost. "It's more than you can plied, "I'm cranking!"
tools, developed rudimentary
heat shield repair kits and set
up the space station to serve as
an emergency shelter in case a
shuttle was too damaged to safely
bring its crew home.
Endeavour's damage is min-
ute by comparison.
"I'm not concerned with
our safety," shuttle commander
Scott Kelly said in an in -flight
interview.
NASA said the question about
whether or not to repair the
damage had more to do with
preventing additional damage
during atmospheric re -entry
that could require time -con-
suming repairs on Earth, thus
delaying Endeavour's tight flight
schedule.
"We know everything is going
to work out just fine," Morgan
said.
Morgan and her crewmates
were told to conduct an extra
inspection of the damage site,
so on Sunday they delicately
passed a laser scanner and
high - resolution camera over the
shuttle's belly. It was an awkward,
complicated maneuver, which
required the crew to mount a
50 -foot extension boom onto the
shuttle's 50 -foot arm and hoist
the gear overboard where they
had no direct view.
While engineers matched the
results to computer models and
made mock -up damaged tiles for
laboratory tests, the Endeavour
crew replaced one of the station's
gyroscopes, which keep the com-
plex properly orientated without
the use of gas - guzzling rocket
thrusters. The station needs four
good gyroscopes if it is to survive
far beyond the shuttle's retire-
ment, as the 600 -pound devices
have no other rides to orbit.
The crew also installed a new
Morgan: McCall's a.
(Continued from Page A -1)
The shuttle and station are
so illuminated for spacewalks
and other operations that stars
aren't visible.
"It's like trying to look at the
stars when you're in Boise,"
Morgan said. "You can see some,
but then if you go high up in the
mountains, up to McCall, and
you have all the lights out" you
can see many.
"That's what it will be like
when we ... undock from (the)
station and we can turn all our
shuttle lights out," Morgan
Added.
Wednesday Landing Set
The shuttle, which was loaded
with gear for the space station,
was due to leave on Monday and
return to the Kennedy Space
Center at 10:48 a.m. Mountain
Time Wednesday.
NASA was considering ex-
tending the mission to repair a
small hole in the shuttle's heat
shield that was caused by a piece
of foam insulation which fell off
Endeavour's fuel tank about one
minute after launch. The tiny
foam chunk, which may have
been laced with ice, smashed
into the delicate ceramic tiles
on the shuttle's belly, gouging
a 3.5 -inch hole that penetrated
almost all the way down to the
ship's aluminum skin.
Temperatures in that area
can reach up to 2,300 degrees
Fahrenheit as the shuttle falls
through the atmosphere to return
to Earth.
The shuttle Columbia was
destroyed by far more serious
heat shield damage, also caused
by falling tank foam insulation,
as it attempted to re -enter the
atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003. After
the accident, which claimed the
lives of another seven astronauts,
NASA remodeled the shuttle fuel
tanks, added a suite of inspection
S)4" kwd
(I L'o'b
� 6,f:?
Innuv
Innint
Hurricane, heat-shield gouge
add drama to Endeavour finale
BY IRENE
Morgan and
KLOTZ
her six crewmates
For The Star-News
ended up coming
home a day early
CAPE CA-
when it appeared
NAVERAL,
a monster burri
Fla. - McCall
cane could force an
schoolteacher
evacuation of the
Barbara Morgan,
shuttle's Houston
who persevered
control center.
for 21 years to
The storm later
fulfill the legacy
turned south, strik-
of a colleague and
inn Mexico, but
friend lost in the
managers decided
Challenger disas-
to bring the crew
ter, returned to
Bill 11 home if weather
Earth on Tuesday
aboard the shuttle
gallstNASA
was suitable in
Barbara Morgan manages Florida since the
Endeavour, a bit
a smile on Tuesday during astronauts already
wobbly and com-
a news conference at Cape had finished their
pletely humbled
by her 13 days in
Canaveral, Fla., following construction and
orbit.
the successful landing of the resupply mission
at the International
"There's a
space shuttle Endeavour. Space Station and
great sense of
Morgan had difficultly departed.
pride to be able to
adjusting to Earth's gravity Like most sum-
be involved in a
human endeavor
after spending 13 days mer days on this
that takes us all
weightless in orbit. ocean-side spit of
land, Tuesday was
a little bit farther hot and humid.
and to know that we are a small Thick, puffy clouds floated
part of what's going to get us through the blue skies, but, sur-
beyond," Morgan, 55, told report-
ers at the Kennedy
prisingly for this time of year,
Space Center they didn't hold rain.
in Florida a few hours after See LANDING, Page A-15
landing.
s4t A."i
Landing: flawless touchdown
ends Morgan's space mission
(Continued from Page A -1)
Satisfied the weather was
stable, NASA cleared Endeavour
to leave orbit and land at a three -
mile -long, canal -lined runway at
the shuttle's homeport. Flying
upside -down and backward 214
miles over the Indian Ocean,
Endeavour commander Scott
Kelly and pilot Charles Hobaugh
fired a pair of rocket engines to
begin the hour -long glide back
to Earth.
Gouge Not An Issue
Morgan, who sat in the win-
dowless lower deck of the crew
cabin duringEndeavour's launch
on Aug. 8, traded places with
crewmate Tracy Caldwell for
the fiery plunge through the
atmosphere and the ride home.
Jolted by the shuttle's supersonic
descent, temperatures outside
the shuttle's thin aluminum skin
soared as hot as the surface of
the sun.
A small tear in the ship's heat
shield, caused by a baseball -sized
piece of flyaway insulation that
hit the shuttle during launch,
had no effect on Endeavour's
re- entry. NASA had dispatched
200 engineers and ran more than
4,000 hours worth of computer
simulations over six days during
the mission before deciding the
three -inch gouge posed no risk.
"I was as certain as I could be
about anything that it was not
going to be an issue," Kelly said
after the landing.
The shuttle's early departure
forced Morgan to skip one of
three educational events that had
been set up before her launch, but
the teacher, who officially joined
the astronaut corps nine years
ago, took it in stride.
"It would always be wonder-
ful to have more time to do more
education," she said. "These
missions are so incrediblypacked
with things that have to be accom-
plished for us to get to the moon
and go on to Mars."
Morgan was referring to the
$100 - billion multi - national space
station, which is alittle more than
60 percent complete. NASA needs
to finish building the outpost by
2010, when the shuttle fleet is to
be retired.
The space agency will then
proceed with development of a
new spaceship and launch system
that not only will be used for sta-
tion transport but also to land
astronauts on the moon. Future
versions are expected to lead to
the first human expeditions to
Mars..
Basil seeds growing
Morgan's plan is to use her
experiences in orbit to help de-
velop activities for students that
will open their minds and develop
skills for future space ventures.
She will begin by distributing
10 million basil seeds that flew
with her on the shuttle and a
challenge for students to develop
plant growth chambers that will
work in space.
"We're going to give them the
seeds, let them experiment, dis-
cover, explore do whatever they
want to do with them and let them
have the kind of experiences we
get to have," Morgan said.
Instead of classroom lessons
from orbit, as her predecessor,
Challenger crewmember Christa
McAuliffe had planned, Morgan
spentmostof hertime overseeing
thetransferof 150bagsof gearfor
the station and repacking items
from the station that needed to be
returned on the shuttle.
She also operated the ship's
robot arm during inspections
of the shuttle's heat shield, and
delivered a storage platform for
station spare parts.
"The flight was absolutely
wonderful," Morgan said. "I am
really proud of our whole team
and the team on the ground. It
was interesting because we had
changes along the way and that's
something we train for and it all
worked out really, really well, I
thought."
Although she needed a few
days to adapt to microgravity,
Morgan said she found that easier
to bear than the dizziness she
experienced upon her return
to Earth. While her crewmates
walked around the shuttle on
the runway, talking with NASA
managers and looking over the
orbiter, Morgan sat in a medical
van, fighting gravity.
"This was Barbara's first
flight. She was feeling just a little
bit under the weather," NASA
administrator Michael Griffin
said.
"She was doing just fine, but
she wasn't able to stand up and
; ,I W
X123/07
walk around out in Florida heat,"
Griffin said. "Having stood up
and walked around out there
in the Florida heat, I was about
ready to join her."
Five hours after touchdown,
Morgan mustered her resolve,
tucked her hair inside a red
baseball cap and steadied her
head for a short press conference
at the Kennedy Space Center.
Obviously strugglingfor balance,
Morgan kept her eyes closed
between questions from report-
ers, turning her head as little as
possible.
"This isn'tthatbad," she said.
"It's actually pretty interesting if
you could be in my body."
Despite her discomfort, Mor-
gan was clearly enchanted by her
experiences in orbit.
"The blackness of space,
I've never seen anything that
black," she said. `At first it was
like obsidian, only blacker and
shiner and creamier or smoother,
I would say.
`And when you look down and
see our planet Earth -- or you look
up depending on whether you're
up or down -- and you realize
what we are trying to do as a hu-
man race, it's pretty profound,"
she said.
NASA Photo
Astronaut Barbara Morgan is surrounded by supplies in SPACEHAB, located in the cargo
bay of the space shuttle Endeavour, in a photo taken last Friday. Morgan was in charge of
transferring supplies between the shuttle and the International Space Station.
Questions following the
successful Endeavor mission
included whether Morgan' will
return to classroom teaching,
how quickly the three other
teachers that have since joined
the astronaut corps will get to fly
and whether she and her family
will eventually return to Idaho.
But Morgan is clear about what
tops her priority list.
"My first plan is to get rid of
the room spinning," she said.
61
scar -tvews niuw vy ��QO ..��
McCall Elementary School Principal Jim Foudy holds the
microphone last Thursday so Tristan Larman can ask NASA
astronaut Barbara Morgan a question as she orbits in the
International Space Station about 200 miles above Australia.
Seated with Larman are Shelby Maris, left, and Briana Zak, right.
Radio link lets M -D students talk to shuttle
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
Ten students had to wait 90 minutes for educa-
tor astronaut Barbara Morgan to orbit the earth
one more time before they were able to ask her 11
questions in a nine - minute window last Thursday
at the Payette Lakes Middle School.
A good -sized crowd of students, parents and
educators was on hand Thursday morning for
the planned uplink via amateur radio to the In-
ternational Space Station. The first opportunity
to contact Morgan went unanswered.
See UPLINK, Page A -15
"We were
pretty nervous
about it
because we
wanted this to
Work, "
— Central Idaho
Amateur Radio
Club President
Richard Trebbien
Uplink
(Continued from Page A -1)
Members of the Central Idaho
Amateur Radio Club helped set
the communication linkup at the
school. They used a telebridge,
which is similar to a phone, to
dial into an audio matrix that was
routed to a station in Australia,
where the International Space
Station would be flying over.
The signal was beamed to the
space station from Australia. It
was then rerouted to earth from
amateur radio equipment oper-
ated by Morgan aboard the space
station to establish the commu-
nication, amateurradio operator
Bob Schaefer of McCall, said.
Schaefer, along with Central
Idaho Amateur RaMo Club Presi-
dent Richard Trebbien of McCall
and KermitPetersonof Donnelly
set up the link in McCall.
The group of radio operators
spent several days setting up a te-
lebridge from NASA to the public
address system at the school.
"We were pretty nervous
about it because we wanted this
to work," Trebbien said.
The first effort failed because
the crew was busy completing a
space walk, principal Jim Foudy
announced to the crowd.
"Barbara waited 22 years for
this, we can wait 90 minutes,"
Foudy said as NASA apologized
for the delay.
When communication was es-
tablished, the 10 schoolchildren
from McCall- Donnelly Schools
were well rehearsed and ready for
the once -in -a- lifetime interview.
In the run - through before
the first attempt, the students
got an "up a gum tree on that
one mate" from their Australian
radio operator, which meant the
students' audio was perfect for
the uplink.
STS -118
MORGANVS
i
MISSION
Morgan answers questions
from M -D students
Here are questions asked of
NASA astronaut Barbara Morgan
by McCall - Donnelly School District
students last Thursday, followed by
Morgan's responses:
Q. How did your body feel dur-
ing the launch? - Weston Appa,
Sixth Grade.
Morgan: First of all, there's just
a lot of shaking going on. You don't
feel a lot at first, and then the G forces
get more and more, and finally at
the very end by the time you get to
3 Gs, it gets pretty tough to breathe.
So you feel like somebody's kind of
standing on your chest.
Q. What is your main duty
on the mission? - Tristan Adams
- Sixth Grade.
Morgan: What we're doing is
helping to finish, to build the Inter-
national Space Station. So we have
several large pieces of equipment
we've put on the station using the
robotic arm and using our space -
walkers. And one of my jobs and the
one I think I like the best is being the
robotic arm operator.
We also have about 150 bags
worth of stuff, of equipment and
everything that the ground ... that
our station crew needs, and we've
been transferring that back and
forth. And that's what we've been
really busy with lately.
Q: What do you do in yourfree
time? Aaron McJunkin, Sixth
Grade.
%I23I a'I
Morgan: Well, it's my free time
right now, and guess what I get to
do? I get to talk with all of you guys
on the ground in McCall, Idaho, from
the International Space Station us-
ing the ham radio. So this is one of
the things we do with our free time,
although we don't have very much
free time.
The other thing I've tried to do
is get peeks out the window to take
a look at Earth below and the sky
above.
Q. Is it hard to eat in micro -
gravity? - Shane Sanders, Fifth
Grade.
Morgan: It's not hard to eat in
microgravity, it's pretty easy. In fact,
it's pretty fun because you can even
play with your food —For example
you can ... my crewmate right here
has a ... his food is floating in mid-
air and he's reaching for it with his
tongue. Also he's playing with a can
and spinning it around.
At first it was hard to get the
food to actually go down when you
swallowed it. It felt like it stayed
up near your throat. That lasted
for two or three days, but then that
went away.
Q: Is there anything that looks
like it's moving on Earth? Emma
Hostetter, Fifth Grade.
See Q&A, Page A -15
(Continued from Page A -1)
Morgan: Last night I was looking
out thA window and l was looking down
at the indian Ocean, and there were big
lightning storms all over the Indian
Ocean. And that's what I could see
moving, was the lightning flashes.
As far as everything else moving,
since we are traveling faster than the
Earth is spinning, it looks like the
clouds are moving underneath us but
it's really us moving over the clouds.
Q: How do you sleep in space? -
Savanah Carpenter, Sixth Grade.
Morgan: You actually sleep very
soundly in space. We have kind of a
... we call it a sleep restraint ... it's
kind of like a flimsy sleeping bag
that we can zip ourselves into clip to
the wall somewhere so that you don't
float around and hit your head on the
equipment.
But you can really sleep just float-
ing in mid -air, too. And I've found that
once I shut my eyes I go to sleep right
away, and I wake up when the alarm
wakes us up about eight hours later.
Q: How do you exercise on the
space station? Shelby Maris, Sixth
Grade.
Morgan: On the space station, we
have three different tools for exercis-
ing. There's an exercise bicycle, there's
a treadmill so that you can run. You
strap yourself into it or you strap
yourself into the bike. And we also
have what we call resistant exercise.
It's a lot like lifting weights, only your
pulling on cables that are attached to
this cannister that you pull against.
Q: What is the temperature
outside the space station? - Tristan
Larman, Sixth Grade.
Morgan: 300 degrees hot, and when
you're on the nighttime side, it's 300
degrees cold.
Q: What protects the space sta-
tion from asteroids? Briana Zak,
Sixth Grade.
Morgan: We have a lot of protec-
tion on board both the shuttle and the
station from asteroids, and there are
special ... actually they're big metal
plates, but they've got kind of a hon-
eycomb structure inside of them, so
that if any asteroids hit, the energy
dissipates inside and they kind of
break up into smaller pieces.
Q: If you had to choose one,
would you be an astronaut or a
teacher? - Lindsay Hall, Sixth
Grade.
Morgan: Do I have to choose one or
can I do both, please? Actually, both are
excellent jobs and they're both very,
very similar. Both you're exploring,
your learning, you're discovering and
you're sharing.
And the only difference really
to me is that as an astronaut you do
that in space and as a teacher you get
to do that with students. And they're
both wonderful jobs. I highly recom-
mend both.
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Fresh off successful mission, Barbara Morgan will hit
the speaking trail to promote education, space science
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
APE CANAVERAL, Fla.
- Having fulfilled a quest
to fly on the space shuttle,
McCall school teacher -
turned- astronaut Barbara
Morgan plans to return to her educa-
tional roots. But she surely wouldn't
turn down any future flight oppor-
tunities.
"Oh yeah, absolutely!" the 55-year-
old Morgan responded when asked at
a homecoming celebration outside
of Houston last week if she'd like a
second spaceflight.
"But along with that, I want my
colleagues to have the opportunity,"
she added.
Since Morgan left the classroom to
train as a full-time astronaut in 1998,
NASA has added three more teach-
ers to the elite corps. And more are
eager to join the ranks. On Saturday,
35 California teachers gathered at
NASAs Dryden Education Center in
Palmdale for a daylong workshop on
life in space.
"We wantto inspire our studentsto
be the next Barbara Morgan," Cheri
Pratt, a special education teacher,
said in an interview with the Los
Angeles Times.
Morgan never intended to have
a career as an astronaut. At most,
she hoped for a guest appearance
on the shuttle, having trained as the
backup to ChristaMcAuliffe, who had
been selected to fly in an educational
outreach program called Teacher in
Space.
But when the New Hampshire high
school teacher died in a 1986 launch
accident aboard the space shuttle
Challenger, Morgan's life changed.
As NASAs poster child for education,
Morgan stuck with the program,
joined the astronaut corps and re-
turned on Aug. 21 from a successful
13 -day construction mission to the
International Space Station.
She spent most of her time in
orbit hauling supplies to the station
and packing up gear from the outpost
that needed to be returned to Earth.
She also served as one of. the robot
arm operators, helping to inspect
the ship for damage and install new
components onto the station. With
NASA pressed for time to finish sta-
tion assembly before the shuttles are
retired in three years, educational
activities took a back seat during
the mission.
See MORGAN, Page A -11
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, center in white shirt, and other
NASA managers give thumbs up signals to the crew of the Space Shuttle
Endeavour shortly after its touchdown Aug. 21 at the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
"We savant to inspire our students to be the next
Barbara Morgan."
—Cheri Pratt, Los Angeles Special Education Teacher
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space science
Morgan: McCall's teacher - astronaut will hit the speaking trail to romote education
(Continued from Page A -I) f
p
"Now that Barbara is back,
part of our expectation is to sit
her down and pick her brain
and ask her personally what
went well and what didn't," said
Ed Pritchard, who manages the
Teaching From Space program
at the Johnson Space Center in
Houston. "We hope to get a lot of
information from her directly
that will help us better put space
in the classroom."
First Stop: Disney World
Morgan's return to Earth left
her a bit queasy, but the dizziness
had subsided by the time she was
welcomed back to Houston Aug.
22, the day after landing. She and
her six crewmates used the forum
to thank their families, friends,
trainers and other supporters
during the long years leading up
to the Aug. 8 launch.
Morgan, as usual, focused on
educators. "You teachers are do-
inga great job makinga difference
or our young people, for their fu-
ture and for all of our future, "she
said. "With all of this, and with
space exploration, I can't wait to
see what comes next."
On Friday morning, Morgan
already was back at work at
Johnson Space Center, although
it typically takes astronauts sev-
eral weeks to fully recover from
a space mission.
Morgan's first public appear-
ance is scheduled for Sept. 10
when she and her crewmates
return to Florida for a celebra-
tion at Disney World in Orlando.
Morgan will unveil a new addi-
tion to the amusement park's
Mission: SPACE attraction, host
an educational event at Disney's
Epcot, then join her crewmates
in leading the Magic Kingdom's
afternoon parade.
Telbvision and other
appearances also are under con.
sideration. Morgan's primary
pitch will be to professional edu-
cators. "Once you've inspired a
teacher, they can relate that to
their students year after year
after year," Pritchard said.
NASA is fielding dozens of
requests for Morgan, with more
coming in each day, he said. Mor-
gan also can expect to receive a
new technical assignment from
the Astronaut Office.
Her past duties included serv-
ing as a communications liaison
between crews in orbit and flight
directors at NASAs Mission
Control.
Morgan's husband, Clay, said
in an e-mail to The Star -News
that his wife was very interested
in working on Orion, the vehicle
under development to replace the
space shuttle.
Barbara Basilseed?
Morgan's first hands -on activ-
ity for students is an engineering
challenge developed and pro-
moted by NASA for students to
design a plant growth chamber
that will work in space.
The point is for students to
learn that there is a process for
design that will help in future
engineering projects and in all
other courses and life experi-
ences, Pritchard said.
To seed the chambers, NASA
flew 10 million cinnamon basil
seeds aboard Endeavour and
plans to distribute them to
teachers and students beginning
later this year. The crew also left
behind a prototype plant growth
chamber aboard the Interna-
tional Space Station for astronaut
Clay Anderson to tend to.
"I think the commitment to
education on this mission was
absolutely outstanding and it
represents the desire of NASA
to go forth and stimulate the next
generation of space explorers, of
researchers, of engineers who
are going to take us back to the
moon and beyond," Morgan's
crewmate Dave Williams, told the
crowd in Houston. `And there is
no person better to do that than
Barb Morgan.
STS -118
MORGAN "S
MISSION
Husband says Morgan
bounced back from space
sickness
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
The dizziness that McCall as-
tronaut Barbara Morgan professed
just after her return to Earth last
week was the only unusual part of
her homecoming, according to her
husband.
In an e-mail message to The
Star -News, Clay Morgan said NASA
doctors gave Barbara Morgan
intravenous injections of fluids to
replace body fluids lost during her
13 days in weightless orbit.
Morgan wore a red baseball cap
at the Aug. 21 news conference while
the other six Endeavour astronauts
did not. That was because she had
just taken a shower and her hair was
still wet, Clay Morgan said.
The night of the landing, most
of the crew of STS -118 and their
families went out for dinner at a
seafood restaurant at Cape Canav-
eral. "We all had a great time," Clay
Morgan said.
He had been warned that many
astronauts have strange sensations
duringtheir first night of sleepback
on earth.
"But I was disappointed by
Barb; she slept straight through,"
he said.
The day after the landing, the
Morgans and their two sons cel-
ebrated by going out for dinner at an
Italian restaurant in Houston.
See REBOUND, Page A -11
00�-)�
�� h4d
Correction
One of the questions eskeclby
NASA astronautBarbaraMorgan
while
choolDistricstuden swasomit
ted from a story in The Star -News
last week.
is the question and
Here
Morgan's answer:
Q. How many y ears did you
Rebou nd
train to become an astronaut?
Bryn ,Sixth Grade.
I have been involved
Morgan: rgan:
with NASA for over 20 years. I
(Continued from Page A-1)
"Barb Thursday off, but
started training to be an astro-
naut in 1998 when my students
in
took
spent much of it catching up on
that I was teaching last were
have now just
NAdSAShe back at workaat
graduat dhighschool.Itha been
sai was
fun, just like teaching.
7:30 a.m. Friday."
MORGAN VISITS MICKEY - As confetti falls all around,
teacher - turned - astronaut Barbara Morgan, left, joins Epcot
vice president Jun MacPhee on Monday to unveil the newest
quotation plaque to be added to the Mission: SPACE attraction
at Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Morgan was joined at Walt
Disney World by the entire crew of NASA space shuttle mission
STS -118 in their first official appearance following their Aug. 21
return to Earth on Endeavour. The plaque, which features an
inspirational quotation from Morgan - "Reach for your dreams .
.. the sky is no limit" - is now on permanent display for Mission:
SPACE guests to see in the attraction's courtyard. Morgan and
the Endeavour crews then moved to the Magic Kingdom to take
part in a procession down Main Street, U.S.A., greet guests and
serve as honorary grand marshals of the afternoon parade.
Sh S�
Above all else, Barbara Morgan was still a teache
(Note: Due to an error, the
wrong version of this Viewpoint
appeared in The Star -News last
week. The correct version ap-
pears below.)
BY KRISTEN GROTE
I was barely six months old when
the space shuttle Challenger left a
smoldering serpent of debris trail-
ing down from the clear January
sky. I was in my teens before I really
understood the meaning of that
calamitous Tuesday morning, what
it meant to our country, and what
it meant to my third -grade teacher,
Barbara Morgan.
It's hard to think of Barbara
Morgan: Teacher in Space and Mrs.
Morgan, the woman who taught
me cursive, as the same person. I
remember Mrs. Morgan as a deeply
patient, compassionate teacher who
always had time to describe to 25
little faces the exciting details of
her bi- monthly trips to Houston.
That was how we knew her, one
month administering spelling bees,
the next training in some far away
land called Texas.
Her absences were filled by the
equally benevolent Mrs. Butler, who
always had a stash of Hershey's
kisses at her disposal to reward
good behavior (I never got nearly as
many as I thought I deserved). Zero
gravity training in a Stratotanker
nicknamed the "Vomit Comet" and
flight testing in high - performance
jets may have seemed preferable
to Mrs. Morgan upon returning to
a troop of ebullient, sugar -sated
eight -year olds.
Nevertheless, she always spoke
to us in a gentle voice, and we all
had admiration for the fact that she
was actually doing what many of us
dreamW we could do someday. She'd
always return with a stash of old
mission insignias for us to hoard,
but never ones of her own. I don't
remember that we ever asked her
when or if she would go into space,
just being an astronaut at all seemed
to be impressive enough for us.
I don't think I learned anything
more about astrophysics from Mrs.
Morgan than I did from any other
teacher. But I still learned cursive
and can spell "February" correctly.
And maybe that was the beauty
of Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Butler's
teaching; that even though Mrs.
Morgan worked in two very engross-
ing, very stressful careers, they still
managed to give us the well- rounded
education we needed, which is ex-
actly what should be expected from
a Teacher in Space.
In the 14 years since then, Mrs.
Morgan has made several reappear-
ances in my life as Barbara Morgan:
Teacher in Space. Every few years
I'd read a snippet of news, hear a
rumor, or catch a broadcast about
how Barbara Morgan: Teacher in
Space was finally scheduled to blast
off, completing what Christa McAu-
liffe had begun so many years ago.
I'd hear those stories quite often,
and every time I did I would say au-
thoritatively and with a fair amount
of self - gratification, "you know, she
was my third grade teacher."
But mission after mission was
cancelled, and I wondered if all
those months she spent away from
us in McCall would ever come to
fruition. Yet in spite of cancella-
tion after cancellation, she stayed
in the program when so many oth-
ers might have walked away. On
Tuesday, her sacrifice to herself, her
family, and her students will finally
be honored.
I always found it unfortunate
how Barbara Morgan's name will
eternally be synonymous wit
Challenger disaster. To endurE
20 years of arduous trainin€
the perpetual disappointment of
mission cancellations is an achieve-
ment in itself without carrying
the weight of a departed colleague
as well. I hope that as we prepare
to watch her attain what she has
worked so hard for, we can see her
as the continuation of a dream that
began so many years ago, not as its
replacement.
In a time when the usefulness of
our space program is being ques-
tioned, when the moon seems too
familiar and Mars too far, when a
25 -year old ex -boy band member can
train to be a Russian cosmonaut, it
feels good to look at Barbara Morgan
and remember what space travel
used to mean to us all when we were
in third grade. To remember with
longing the romance and excitement
of it all and that anyone, even a third
grade teacher from Idaho, can drift
high above us.
(Kristen Grote attends the
University of Idaho and was a
third -grade student of NASA
educator - astronaut Barbara
Morgan.)
Time Line to Launch - What will happen in the hours up to liftoff
Endeavour's liftoff at5:02p.m.
Mountain Time on Tuesday will
depend on thousands of pieces
of equipment working properly
and good weather. Here's a quick
overview of what happens on
launch day (all times are Moun-
tain Time):
• 7:15 a.m. - Technicians be-
gin pumping 500,000 gallons of
cryogenic propellants into the
shuttle's fuel tank. The liquid
oxygen andliquid hydrogen feeds
the shuttle's three main engines
during the 8.5- minute climb into
orbit.
• 10:07 a.m. - Inspection team
heads to launch pad to look for
ice formations, other hazards
for launch.
• 1:12 p.m. - Crew leaves quar-
ters for the short ride to the
launch pad.
• 1:45 p.m. - Crew begins board-
Liftoff
(Continued from Page A -1)
Launch Sequence
• T -minus 7 minutes, 30 sec-
onds - Retract orbiter access
arm.
• T -minus 6 minutes, 15 sec-
onds - Start mission recorders.
• T -minus 5 minutes - Start
shuttle's auxiliary power units.
Arm explosives on solid rocket
boosters and external fuel tank,
which would be detonated by
range safety officers if the
shuttle veers off - course and
heads to populated areas.
ing shuttle, strapping down for
launch.
• 2:47 p.m. - Seal hatch for
launch. Check for leaks.
• 3:47 p.m. - Countdown enters
10- minute hold. Launch director
queries team to determine if En-
deavour is ready for liftoff.
• 3:57 p.m. - Countdown resumes
at T -minus 20 minutes. Shuttle's
computers configured for launch.
Crew cabin vents closed.
• T -minus 3 minutes, 30 sec-
onds - Automatic test of main
engines.
• T -minus 2 minutes, 55 sec-
onds - Pressurize liquid oxygen
tank.
• T -minus l minute, 57 seconds
- Pressurize liquid hydrogen
tank.
• T -minus 50 seconds - Transfer
from ground power to orbiter
internal.
• T -minus 31 seconds - Shut-
tle computers take control of
launch.
• T -minus 6 seconds - Shuttle's
three main engines ignite.
• T -zero - Solid rocket boosters
ignite and liftoff.
• 4:08 p.m. - Enter planned 46-
minute hold at T -minus 9 minute
mark. Launch director, mission
management team and NASA
test director conduct polls to
determine if shuttle is ready for
launch. Engineers respond with
a "go" or "no go."
• 4:54 p.m. -Countdown resumes
at T -minus 9 minute mark.
See LIFTOFF, Page A -15
Shuttle crew has
long job list
Endeavour mission will need all
hands, including Barbara Morgan,
to accomplish planned tasks
STS -118
MORGAN'S
MISSION
Above, the crew of
STS -118 pose for
their official portrait.
Pictured from left
are:astronauts
Richard A. (Rick)
Mastracchio, mission
specialist; Barbara
Morgan of McCall,
a mission specialist
and NASA's first
educator astronaut;
Charles O. Hobaugh,
Pilot; Scott J. Kelly,
commander; Tracy
E. Caldwell, Cana-
dian Space Agency's
Dafydd R. (Dave)
Williams, and Alvin
Drew Jr., all mission
specialists.
At right, a NASA
worker checks the
movement of one of
Endeavour's payload
bay doors as it closes
on Saturday at Ken-
nedy Space Center
in Florida. Various
items to be taken to
the International
Space Station can
be seen, including a
small truss, second
from top, to continue
the station's con-
struction.
NASA/Charisse Nahser Photo
BY IRENE KLOTZ
For The Star -News
APE CANAVERAL, Fla. -NASA
is counting on next week's
scheduled launch of McCall
schoolteacher Barbara Morgan
and her six crewmates to re-
store some shine to the agency's battered
image.
The U.S. space agencylast weekreceived
a shocking report that astronauts had flown
in space drunk despite concerns from doc-
tors and crewmates.
Endeavour commander Scott Kelly was
tasked to make sure his crew was fit to fly
before the shuttle blasts off at 5:02 p.m.
Mountain Time on Tuesday.
It's an order the 43- year -old Naval com-
mander and test pilot will not take lightly.
A fast -riser among NASAs elite astronaut
corps, Kelly was put in charge of the En-
deavour mission though he has only one
previous spaceflight. He served as the pilot
during a 1999 servicing call to the Hubble
Space Telescope.
This time, he'll be headingto the Interna-
tional Space Station, a $100 - billion complex
that is still under construction. NASA needs
to finish delivering and assembling its ma-
jor components before the space shuttles are
retired in 2010. It will take at least 12 more
shuttle flights to finish the job.
Little Time for Teaching
The schedules are so packed that Mor-
gan, 55, who originally trained for flight
as the backup to Teacher in Space Christa
See MISSION, Page A-15
NA— rii
"We could
not do this
flight if we
had person
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dedicated to
education.
Barbara
is a fully
ember f,
this crew
and nee
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space shuttle
stiff. ss
— Endeavour
Commander
Scott Kelly
♦ McCall to send mayor to launch ...................Page A -15
♦ Mission Briefs ............................ ...........................Page A -15
♦ Launch Parties ........................... ...........................Page A -14
Mission: Shuttle crew has long j o
(Continued from Page A -1) for a mission 3 -1/2 months prior the arrival of new laboratories is extended, a
McAuliffe, will have little time to launch. After that, it was just built by Europe and Japan. would take p
for educational programs when time to get busy." Two days later, the space- prepare the
she finally fulfills a commitment
made nearly 22 years ago to con-
tinue McAuliffe's work.
McAuliffe was killed when
the shuttle Challenger broke
apart seconds after liftoff on Jan.
28, 1986, due to a faulty booster
rocket.
"We could not do this flight if
we had a person as a crew member
that was just dedicated to educa-
tion," Kelly said. "Barbara is a
fully functional member of this
crew, and we need her to do space
shuttle stuff."
Civilian fliers were banned
from the shuttles after the Chal-
lenger accident, which put
Morgan's assignment on hold
for more than a decade. In 1998,
she was offered a spot in the
astronaut corps as the first edu-
cation- mission specialist. Since
then, three more teachers have
joined the corps.
"What defines a teacher is
perseverance andpatience, so I'm
just doing the job of a teacher,"
Morgan said. "I believe in my
heart that space exploration is
key for all of us, but especially
forour youngpeople, to keeptheir
futures open- ended."
She's not bothered by the fact
that there are only about six hours
set aside for in -flight educational
programs during the mission.
Most of her time will be spent
operating the shuttle's robot
arm and overseeing the transfer
of 5,000 pounds of cargo to and
from space station. The primary
educational outreach will come
after the flight.
Crew Member Added Late
In addition to Kelly, Morgan
will be flying with Charles
Hobaugh, 46, and mission special-
ists Rick Mastracchio, 47, Dave
Williams, 53, Tracy Caldwell, 37,
and Alvin Drew, 44, who was just
added to the crew in late April.
The slot opened after NASA de-
cided to fly a new crewmember to
the space station during the June
mission of space shuttle Atlantis
rather than Endeavour's.
"This flight is very compli-
cated, and we need all the help we
can get," Scott said, explaining
Drew's late assignment to the
Endeavour crew.
"My initial reaction was just
plain shock," said Drew, who will
become the first of the astronaut
class of 2000 to fly. "I'd never
heard of anybody being selected
The crew faces a variety of
tasks during the mission, which
is scheduled to last up to 14 days.
The primary goal of the flight,
which will be NASAs 119th in
shuttle program history, is to
attach a short beam to the space
station's primary external truss
and replace a faulty gyroscope
needed to help the outpost main-
tain its position in orbit.
The crew also plans to attach
a platform to the outside of the
station that will be used to store
equipment and to deliver much -
needed supplies and equipment.
`As soon as the main engines
cut off and we unstrap, we've
got a lot of work to do, said
Caldwell, one of the crew's three
rookie fliers.
Renovated Shuttle
Endeavour itself will be mak-
ing its first flight since late 2002.
Following the 2003 Columbia
accident, the shuttle underwent
a major maintenance and over-
haul. It returns to flight with
several new pieces of equipment,
including the first power system
that can tap directly into the space
station's electrical grid, which
will enable the shuttle crew to
remain aboard the outpost for
several extra days.
If the new system works
properly, NASA plans to extend
Endeavour's mission from 11 to
14 days and add a fourth space-
walk.
Endeavour also will become
the first shuttle to fly exclusively
with Global Positioning System
navigation gear.
"It's like a new space shuttle,"
said program manager Wayne
Hale. "It's like driving a new car
off the showroom floor."
If Endeavour is launched on
time, the shuttle should reach the
space station on Thursday after-
noon, Aug. 9. The crew wouldturn
on the new power system and use
the shuttle's robot arm to pull out
the station's new truss segment
from the cargo bay and hand it
over to the station's crane. The
first spacewalk, by Mastracchio
and Williams, would take place
the next day.
The men, both of whom will be
making their second spaceflights,
plan to bolt the new beam into po-
sition on the station's main truss,
move a grapple fixture, and work
on reconfiguring the station's
solar arrays in preparation for
walkers return to replace one
of the station's four massive
gyroscopes, which spin to keep
the complex properly oriented
without the use of chemical
rocket thrusters. The next day,
the stowage platform will be
lifted out of the shuttle's payload
bay and attached to the station's
main truss.
Four Spacewalks Planned
For the third spacewalk,
Mastracchio and station flight
engineer Clay Anderson will
venture outside to work on the
station's communications sys-
tem, move two work carts that
travel along rails on the outside
of the station and bring in two sci-
ence experiments. If the mission
b list
fourth spacewalk
lace on Aug. 16 to
station for future
assembly work.
"Each EVA (extravehicular
activity, or spacewalk) is a whole
new beast of its own," said
Caldwell, who will be oversee-
ing the spacewalks from inside
the station.
Under the extended flight
plan, Endeavour would undock
from the station on Aug. 19 and
return to the Kennedy Space Cen-
ter for landing on Aug. 21.
"We're all really excited, and
we're all very much looking for-
ward to this," Morgan said.
She and her crewmates were
scheduled to arrive at the Ken-
nedy Space Center for final
launch preparations on Friday.
The three -day launch countdown
begins Saturday.
e5 u-'
Idaho needs to welcome the Morgans home
Clay Morgan, husband of the fa-
mous teacher - turned- astronaut,
sent an e -mail this spring that still
makes me laugh
In it, he described his wife Barbara's
training schedule while preparing for
her space mission. One day, she was
flying a test plane in California; the
next, she was training in Canada. Then
she was off to Cape Canaveral or some
other exotic spot.
The e -mail ended with Clay saying
he was "home cleaning the grout in the
kitchen:'
It was an example not only of the
role reversals that have become com-
monplace in our society — once it was
only men who blasted into space —
but of how much the Morgans' lives
have changed.
When they left their McCall home
nine years ago for Barbara to train as
i an astronaut in Houston, the two Mor-
gans were about equally well-known
in Idaho. Barbara was a third grade
teacher who had succeeded Christa
McAuliffe as the designated teacher m
space. Clay was one of the state's best -
known authors. He helped organize
and host writers' conferences in
McCall, and his "Santiago and the
Drinking Party" was one of the
best - reviewed books of its time by an
Idaho writer.
Moving to Houston couldn't have
been easy. Few places could be more
Nhotos provioea ny uay nnorgan
Clay and Barbara Morgan stand at the McCall airport in 1987 with a DC -3 airplane used for fighting forest fires. A former smoke
jumper, Clay Morgan once narrated a jump while working as a commentator for National Public Radio.
different from McCall. McCall is
small-town charm. Winter sports. A
picture -book mountain lake. Houston
is a muggy, sprawling metroplex.
In McCall, recreation for the Mor-
gans was literally outside their door.
Their sons snowboarded past their
house.
In Houston, recreation often meant
a roughly hour -long drive to the beach
at Galveston.
"It's basically jogging, cycling, surf-
ing and skateboarding," Clay said.
While Barbara traveled or worked
long days at the space center — astro-
naut training tends to be all- consum-
ing — Clay stayed home with the boys.
"I had to keep an eye on them be-
cause she couldn't," he said. "I had to
know where they were. I cooked
meals, did housework.
"We have meetings for the spouses
of the astronauts, and I'm usually the
only male. The women are very nice to
me, but after a while, they tend to for-
get I'm there. It's like I'm an out -of-
body experience at those things: '
I asked if he ever felt like John
Lennon during his house - husband pe-
riod.
"No," Clay said. "I have my work,
and even down here Barb has support-
ed me more than I have her. She's al-
ways encouraged me. As a writer,
you're not taking the proven path, and
she's always been been so supportive. I
don't feel like the guy behind the gal at
all„
With the boys nearly grown —
Adam is in in his second year as a film
major at a college in Texas; high-
TIM WOODWARD
twoodward(a
idabostatesman.com
school senior Ryan, is considering
Boise State University — their father
has more time to spend on writing. His
newest book, "The Boy who Returned
from the Sea," is being released this
week. It's a sequel to his first children's
book, "The Boy who Spoke Dog."
"Sequels are hard," he said. "Now I
understand why top authors often con-
tract out sequels and just direct them.
You're supposed to keep the same
character and just put him through dif-
ferent paces. I had a hard time doing
that. It took about a year to write and
about 2% years with the revisions
while working around other things.
You have to make money, too."
To that end, he's writing screenplays
and working for a company that owns
space capsules and space stations it
hopes to use for commercial purposes
from engineering to tourism. He also
wrote a history of the program that put
American astronauts on the Russian
space station Mir. It won him a NASA
public service medal.
So both Morgans are tied to space in
one way or another.
And to Idaho.
uay Morgan and his son Adam watch at
Cape Canaveral last month as Barbara
Morgan hurtled from Earth aboard the
Space Shuttle Endeavour. Clay said he
was "glued to the television" while his
wife was in space.
"Barb would like to fly again, but as
you know, they're going to ground the
shuttle in three years, and a lot of peo-
ple are in the queue, including educa-
tor astronauts she helped bring in. So it
Will be difficult for her to get to go
again.
"She wants to keep exploring and
discovering and helping teachers. If
9 /i3 /o
she can do that best through NASA,
that would be a good thing. But now
that this part of her life is done, we feel
a huge pull to get back to Idaho. Maybe
Boise. I don't know if we could afford
to live in McCall now"
You'd think the Morgans would be
deluged with invitations to return to
Idaho, but the only ones Barbara's re-
ceived so far are from the University of
Idaho, the Idaho Science Teachers and
the McCall Winter Carnival. Mean-
while, Clay said, Scotland and Wales
have asked her to tour schools there —
an invitation that has to be close to her
teacher's heart.
Not to be picky, but it seems a little
odd that she hasn't been asked to
speak to kids in Idaho. Barbara Morgan
is arguably the most famous Idaho
woman since Sacajawea — and look
what happened to her. She got kid-
napped and to this day is claimed by
North Dakota. Now Scotland and
Wales are after Morgan.
This is a woman who did something
no other Idahoan has done or probably
will ever do. And her husband played a
big part in helping her dream come
true. They deserve a proper Idaho wel-
come home.
Tim Woodward: 377 -64o9
READ TIM'S COLUMNS
ONLINE
IdahoStatesman.com/Woodward
Also, see a multimedia presentation about
Barbara Morgan, the shuttle, the mission
and more.
Crapo, Morgan say student downlink a good model for future
Sen. Mike Crapo, R- Idaho, and
NASA astronaut Barbara Morgan
agreed last week the recent downlink
from Morgan's space shuttle mission
to Idaho students should be a model
for future space missions.
Crapo met with Morgan and two
other members of the recent Endeavor
mission crew, Charles Hobaugh and
Tracy Caldwell, last Thursday in his
Washington, D.C. office.
"There is no question about the
benefitsof continuing NASA missions
and the educator in space program as
we move to Project Constellation, the
next chapter in our space program,"
Crapo said.
"One of those benefits is obvious
—the value of science education these
missions can bring to our future lead-
ers," he said. "Barbara and I agreed
that the downlink from her shuttle
mission to Idaho students at the Dis-
covery Center of Idaho should serve
as a model for future space missions.
Her education efforts have brought
learning to students in ways few ef-
forts can."
Morgan and her crew colleagues
gave Crapo NASA pins, photos,
patches and an autographed American
flag. Both hoped they could visit to the
Discovery Center during December.
Crapo had encouraged NASA
repeatedly to continue the education
in space mission when the 1986 Chal-
lenger disaster had put the effort in
doubt.
"Senator Crapo has been a strong
advocate, and we will continue to count
on his support for future NASA mis-
sions," Morgan said.
There has been concern that the use
by Congress of continuing budget reso-
lutions while appropriations matters
See DOWNLINK, Page B -12
Downlink
(Continued from Page B -1)
are worked out could hurt NASAs
goalsof planningforflightstothe
International Space Station and
on to Mars, Crapo said.
The current space shuttle fleet
is set to be retired by the end of
the decade. Unmanned flights of
the new generation of space ve-
hicles could begin in 2009, with a
manned flight possible by 2015.
Crapo said the success of
programs like NASAs educa.
tor mission specialist should
demonstrate the wide audience
for NASA missions and a strong
rationale for continuing the
space program.
Barbara /Q/ 11/ °7
Morgan, right,
visited Sen.
Mike Crapo,
R- Idaho, in
Washington,
D.C. last
week. Not
pictured are
crew members
Charles
Hobaugh and
Tracy Caldwell
who also
attended the
meeting.
Photo courtesy office of
Sen. Mike Crapo
Community to honor astronaut with rally, reception
Welcome Home Barbara.'
Naming of elementary school, tour
of local schools also scheduled
McCall teacher and astronaut Barbara Morgan
will be welcomed home to McCall next week in a
celebration highlighted by a public rally Tuesday
night at the McCall- Donnelly High School gym.
The rally will be just one of a series of events
Morgan will attend during her week -long visit to
Idaho, her first visit since she completed her 13 -day
mission for NASA in August.
Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday with M -D
high school cheerleaders serving as ushers and
hostesses.
At 7 p.m., welcoming remarks will be made by
KTVB anchorman Mark Johnson after which Mor-
gan is expected to arrive via police car at the school
where she will make a grand entry.
Mayor Bill Robertson will present the key to
the city to Morgan after which winners of an es-
say contest held at McCall Elementary School will
read their essays.
Associated Student Body President Alicia Keithly
will introduce Morgan who will then make a pre-
sentation about her mission to the International
Space Station.
On Wednesday, Morgan will visit students at
McCall Elementary School, Payette Lakes
Middle School, M -D high school and Heartland
High School.
The day will end with a public reception begin-
ning at 6 p.m. at Whitetail Club & Resort. Tickets
cost $50 for the event, which is sponsored by the
McCall- Donnelly Education Foundation.
Those attending will be able to meet with Mor-
gan, take photos with their own cameras, or have
their photos taken by a professional photographe7
"We are honored to be a part of Barbara
Morgan's historic homecoming celebra-
tion as her educational values and lifelong
pursuit and focus on the students aligns
with our foundation's goals," foundation
Executive Director Tom Greco said.
See MORGAN,
Morgan: McCall welcomes astronaut horr
(Continued from Page A -1)
Next Thursday, on Dec. 13,
Morgan will visit Donnelly
Elementary School, Cascade
schools and the private Tamarack
Academy at Tamarack Resort.
Tamarackhasnamedaroom in
the resort's Arling Center Grange
meeting center in Morgan's
honor, and a public dedication
will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Academy students also will
present a Science and Arts Fair
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Arling
Center Schoolhouse.
On Friday, Dec. 14, Morgan will
meet students in the Meadows
Valley School.
At 2:15 p.m., a ceremony
will begin to name M -D's new
elementary school now under
construction as Barbara Morgan
Elementary School.
Before she travels to McCall,
Morgan will visit Boise State
University on Monday as part
of a welcome home'event orga-
nized by the Discovery Center
of Idaho.
BSU is a sponsor of a free
public lecture that Morgan will
deliver at 6:30 p.m. in the Velma
V. Morrison Center for the Per-
forming Arts.
Admission is free of charge,
but tickets are required and can
be picked up at the Discovery
Center, 131 Myrtle St.
From 1975 -78, Morgan taught
remedial reading and mat
second grade at McCall- Donnelly
Elementary School. After a year
in Ecuador, she taught second,
third, and fourth grades at Mc-
Call Elementary School from
1979 -98.
Since 1998, she has worked
full time for NASA and is a fully
trained astronaut.
She and her husband, Clay, and
the couple's two sons live in Hous-
ton, where she works at NASAs
Johnson Space Center.
Welcome home
"I didn't do this,
we did this. There's
nothing we can't do
in this community.
I'd like to give you a
hand."
- BARBARA MORGAN
le flight
BY MICHAEL WELLS
The Star -News
NIV ASA Astronaut Barbara
Morgan came home to McCall
Tuesday to thank her home-
town by sharing her experience
in her classroom among the
stars.
"I didn't do this, we did this," Morgan said
to a crowd of more than 350 people at McCall-
Donnelly High School.
"There's nothing we can't do in this
community," she said. " I'd like to give you a
hand."
Greeted by a standing ovation after arriv-
ing by police car, Morgan shared moments
from her 13 -day mission in August to the
International Space Station.
She received a key to the city from McCall
Mayor Bill Robertson, and Morgan gave the
city a mission patch that she took up into
space with her that was signed by the crew of
the space shuttle Endeavour.
As she looked out into the crowd, she kept
seeing old friends that would cause her to
pause.
"It's great to come home," she said. "We
miss home very, very much. I love you guys."
Much to Learn
As Morgan recalled traveling at 17,500
mph to rendezvous with the space station 200
miles in orbit above earth, she pointed to a
slide of the Milky Way galaxy.
She then spoke about what people know
about the universe, pointing out that we
know very little.
"There's so much to learn out there,"
Morgan said of why a teacher would go into
space. "There are never ending open oppor-
tunities for whatever they want to do in the
future."
She talked about the construction of the
space station and showed a short film of the
shuttle docking with the station.
Morgan described the darkness of space
and the brilliance of the sun on the space sta-
tion. She also talked about taking time just to
look out at the stars each day in orbit.
See MORGAN, Page A -12
Morgan: hundred's cheer McCall's teacher- turned-
astronaut in first visit home since August shuttle flight
(Continued from Page A -1)
"The stars look like they are
hanging from strings," Morgan
said. She said that viewing stars
from space gave her a chance
to perceive the depths of the
universe.
Morgan took questions from
schoolchildren who quickly lined
up to a microphone.
She was asked if going into
space was scarier than a roller
coaster.
"I was so glad that we were
launching, it was a happy feeling
not a scary one," Morgan said. She
was surprised about the experi-
ence, however.
She was expecting to feel
gravitational forces pushing
her into her seat, but what she
remembered most was the shuttle
pushing her upward into space.
Another student asked if she
saw the forest fires burning in
Idaho from space.
Morgan said she did not be-
cause when the space station and
shuttle passed over Idaho she was
busy working on the mission.
Another student asked what
age she was when shefirstthought
about being an astronaut.
"I never really ever thought
about becoming an astronaut,"
Morgan said.
She said when she was grow-
ing up girls did not think about
becoming astronauts. Later as
a teacher, Morgan said seeking
out new things and ways to learn
vointed her to the stars.
M &Ms on Board
Morgan was asked what herfa-
vorite food while in orbit was. She
mentioned a few different things
before settling on her absolute
favorite space fgod, M &Ms.
Morgan promised the rest of
the children standing in line that
she would answer their questions
this week when she visited them
in class on Wednesday. She said
that the evening needed to end
because it was a school night.
Morgan visited all McCall
schools on Wednesday, includ-
ing McCall Elementary School,
McCall - Donnelly High School,
Payette Lakes Middle School and
Heartland High School.
On Wednesday night, a $50
per ticket reception in her honor
was scheduled for Whitetail Club
and Resort.
Today, Morgan will visitpublic
schools in Cascade and Donnelly
as well as the private Tamarack
Academy.
While at Tamarack, a room at
the resort's Arling Center meet-
ing complex will be dedicated in
her name.
On Friday, Morgan will visit
students in New Meadows in
the morning, followed in the
afternoon by the dedication
of the elementary school now
under construction in McCall
as Barbara Morgan Elementary
School.
On Saturday, Morgan will
return to Boise, where she will
take a flight back to her home in
Houston.
On Monday, following her ar-
rival in Boise, Morgan attended a
reception at the Discovery Center
of Idaho and gave a lecture at the
Morrison Center for the Perform-
ing Arts.
Barbara Morgan leads a presentation on her August trip into space for students at McCall Elementary School Wednesday.
pportun*ity
BY LUCIA V KNUDSON
The Star -News
NASA astronaut Barbara Mor-
gan leaned into the projector beam
to catch the question of a boy
Wednesday afternoon at McCall
Elementary School multipur-
pose room. As she hovered there
straining to hear his soft voice,
she became the essence of the
message she wanted to deliver to
her students.
A glowing swarm of galaxies
photographed by the Hubble Space
Telescope covered her face, shoul-
ders and torso, transforming her
into a vision of the universe.
Morgan returned to McCall El-
ementary Schoolthis week not just
to teach about her August space
mission for an hour but to deliver
the message to students to reach to
the moon, Mars and beyond.
One of the last photos she
showed was taken from space of
the moon hovering above a ter-
restrial dawn.
"This is where we'll be going.
I hope you'll help us," she said,
referring to a science project she
encouraged children to undertake
that involves some of the million
seeds of the seasoning herb ba-
sil that were transported to the
International Space Station with
Barbara Morgan uses
her time with McCall
students to urge them to
seek their dreams
Morgan's mission.
The seeds endured weight-
lessness for two weeks before
returning to Earth on Morgan's
ship, the Endeavour. She asked
the students to obtain some of the
seeds and build a growth chamber
to study how they will grow. Stu-
dents' findings could help NASA
scientists understand the feasi-
bility of growing crops at future
colonies on the moon and Mars.
Morgan entered the multipur-
pose to a chorus of cheers and
apologized for being late, explain-
ing she was with the preschoolers
giving them an experience of float-
ing in space.
"Are you ready to go into space ?"
she asked as she began her slide
and video show. The sequence
contained a clip of the launch of
herflight in the shuttle Endeavour,
after which Morgan asked, "Did
you like launching into space ?"
She was answered by applause,
and grinned.
She did that a lot during her
talk, and her enthusiasm was
catching. Her pictures elicited
lots of oohs and ahs, and at the
endof her presentation more than
half the audience jumped to their
feet for the chance to ask her a
question.
Morgan showed she had not
lost her touch for reaching out
to students and engaged them
in lively discussion during her
presentation. Every photo was an
opportunity to teach that included
instruction in the lessons for life,
and she didn't miss a beat.
Morgan smoothlytied the value
of teamwork into a picture of her
mission's ground control crew
and into a video clip of the shuttle
landing, noting the cooperation
involved in safely bringing down
the ship.
Photos of the space station crew
were a platform to reinforce the
values of international coopera-
tion and friendship.
Past was knit to present in a
mini local history lesson as Mor-
gan explained the Endeavour was
named by McCall and Donnelly stu-
dents years before the youngsters
at the assembly were born.
Emotions flow from
Morgan's former
students, old friends
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
The Star -News
Those attending Tuesday's reception for McCall
astronaut Barbra Morgan got a sense of the noise
of the space shuttle she traveled in this summer.
Morgan enteredthe gym amid the din of cheers,
applause and the blaring of the McCall- Donnelly
High School band. Young children covered their
ears in the deafening fanfare.
McCall City Council member Bonnie Bertram
said Morgan taught both of her daughters when
they were in third and fourth grade.
Barbara is a hometown girl; I'm going to be
here," Bertram said.
Festive posters in various combinations of red,
white and blue decorated the walls. One showed
the space shuttle piggyback on its rocket booster
shooting through space.
"Way to make your dream a reality," read one
poster. "Youare an inspirationtous all," proclaimed
another.
Harold Hoff from Asotin, Wash., came to see
Morgan at the urging of his great - grandaughter,
Anisa Ryan, a McCall Elementary School third -
grader.
Emotional Reunion
Tears gleamed in Morgan's eyes as she looked
across the audience. When her turn to speak came,
her voice and countenance were warm and sincere.
Her voice choked with emotion when she spotted
friends' faces among the crowd.
Morgan presented a video slide show of her fa-
vorite photos from her space mission. Eyes riveted
on the screen as the images slid past. Youngsters
stared in wonder and didn't fidget in their seats.
McCall Hotel owner David Carey brought his
3- year -old daughter, Ella, to meet Morgan. She
clamped her hands over her ears because the clap-
ping scared her.
Even if she doesn't totally take it in now, for
her to understand in the future, she was here to
meet (Morgan)," Carey said.
The cheerleaders who were part of the wel-
come committee weren't born yet when Morgan
embarked upon the adventure of her lifetime, but
they still could appreciate her endeavor.
"It's really cool to have someone who has
actually been in space and really accomplished
something to be from McCall and comeback here,"
Megan Licht said.
Not many people get to see a real astronaut in
person," Caitlin Andrew said.
"It was pretty amazing to see her go up in the
shuttle and to come back down, pretty amazing to
see her again," Kassie Herbst said.
The event was exciting for Mikayla Goodwin, a
McCall fifth- grader. "I think it's cool because she
went to space and now she's visiting her home
town," Goodwin said.
Her mother, Lynn Goodwin, said the family
talked about Morgan's visit a lot at home. Seeing
Morgan return to McCall in triumph carried special
significance for Goodwin.
At top, Barbara
Morgan recites the
Pledge of Allegiance
while standing in
front of McCall -
Donnelly Education
Foundation President
Bill Eldredge,
McCall Mayor Bill
Robertson and M -D
school board chair
Doug MacNichol.
At center, Morgan
gestures while
showing photos from
her August mission
to the International
Space Shuttle. At
left, Morgan gives
autographs to
children following the
rally.
Photos for The star -News by
Matt Moehr Photography
Student essays reflect
Morgan's inspiration
Below are the winners of an essay
contest with the theme "What Barbara
Morgan Means to Me" held at McCall and
Donnelly elementary schools.
The winners read their essays
Tuesday night at a homecoming rally
in Morgan's honor at McCall- Donnelly
High School.
"Barbara Morgan means many things
to me, but above all she inspired me by
showing me your dreams can come true!
Although she was not the first teacher
with the dream to be an astronaut, she
was the first woman teacher to return
to Earth safely. She has what it takes to
make her dreams come true."
4A, 16W
r
Photo for The Star -News by Matt Moehr Photography/Sketch courtesy Design West
In foreground, Barbara Morgan gets a tour on Friday of the newly named
Barbara R. Morgan Elementary School from Jim Coles of Design West in
Meridian. In background is an architect's sketch of the school.
M -D names
school to honor astronaut Barbara Morgan
BY LUCIA V. KNUDSON
The Star -News
Former McCall teacher and NASA astro-
naut Barbara Morgan got a tour on Friday
of the school that will bear her name.
Morgan got a look at the elementary
school under construction in McCall that
was named earlier in the day as Barbara
R. Morgan Elementary School.
. In the tour, she said and knew right
away she wanted, to return to teach at the
school.
A dedication ceremony was held Friday
afternoon at the niultipurpose room at Mc-
Call Elementary :School prior to the tour
to formally bestow he new name upon the
school.
After the ceremony, a group made up
of current and former McCall- Donnelly
officials, elementary sc:hool' teachers and
M -D's construction mamigement and design
teams gave Morgan a tout' of the newfacility,
located near Payette Lal:es Middle School.
Mostly current elementary students at-
tended the naming cerer cony. M -D trustees
wanted to give children \vho would use the
school next year first ch, nice to attend the
ceremony, Principal Jim :Foudy said.
A Natural Choice
Trustees deemedthe multipurpose room
an appropriate spot to hold tY ie ceremony.
With all students attending, the room quick-
ly reached capacity set by fire code, and
members of the public were turned away.
Former M -D Superintendent Everett
Howard told his attentive, quiet audience
he was not surprised that Morgan stepped
forward to apply for NASA's Teacher in
Space program in 1985.
Her background in science and education
made her a natural choice, Howard said.
Application for the honor involved many
letters of recommendation before she won
a place among the finalists.
"Undaunted, she forged ahead and was
not only determined to ... the knowledge
for her students but to elevate the role of
teachers worldwide, "'he said.
Morgan was chosen to back up teacher
Christa McAuliffe, and McAuliffe and
Morgan became close friends while in the
space program. McAuliffe died when the
space shuttle Challenger exploded soon
after takeoff in 1986.
Morgan was named McAulliffe's replace-
ment and began a 21 -year journey that
culminated in her 13 -day flight on the space
shuttle Endeavour in August.
Prior to departing the multipurpose
room for her tour, Morgan signed essays
written by Zakkary Schirmeister and Alex
Fields about how they had been inspired by
Morgan's example.
At the new school, Morgan followed ev-
ery word of Jim Coles, her tour guide and
School
(Continued from Page A -1)
"Also, they (the children) can
be loud enough without disturb-
ing the classes," she said.
the architect with Meridian architectural
design firm Design West.
Morgan approved of the decision to put
environmentally friendly and performance -
enhancing features in the new building.
She was impressed with the use of
skylights and reflected light to illuminate
rooms inside the school.
"Do you remember when we took all
those beautiful windows out and put the
teeny, tiny ones in and how we stood at the
doors and said no way ?" Morgan said to
her former boss, former elementary school
Principal John Wall.
Morgan wondered about getting natural
light into the cafeteria and other downstairs
areas in the two -story structure. Coles
explained that the interior would be much
brighter once the walls are finished.
Thrilled with Design
Morganwas thrilled shortcomings inthe
existingelementary school were eliminated
in the new school and that teachers had
flexibility to configure space within their
classrooms.
She peered at the playground north of
the building while construction supervisor
Frank McCrady informed her the distance
from building ensured the playground
would not be shaded in winter and would
stay ice -free.
See SCHOOL, Page A -14
During her tour, Morgan pre-
sented the school district with a
framed photo of the Endeavour
crew that was also signed by crew
members.
Inside the frame with the pic-
ture was a crewpatch that flew5.3
million miles and completed 201
Earth orbits during Endeavour's
assembly mission to the Interna-
tional Space Station.
fl 16- 67
Barb Morgan
mecoming
for Dec. l l
rally to kick off 5 -day visit
McCall teacher and astronaut Barbara
Morgan will return to McCall next month for
a celebration of her flight on the space shuttle
in August.
The highlight of Morgan's five -day visit will
be a public welcome celebration to begin at 7
p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, at the McCall- Donnelly
High School gym.
There also will be a public reception starting
at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at Whitetail Resort.
Ticket information on the reception, sponsored
by the McCall- Donnelly Education Foundation,
will be announced later.
Morgan, who will turn 56 on Nov 28, will
arrive in Boise on Sunday, Dec. 9. Her husband,
Clay, and the couple's two children will not ac-
company her.
On Monday, Dec. 10, an invitational breakfast
will be held at the Discovery Center of Idaho
followed by a public autograph session in the
afternoon and a public address that night.
On Wednesday, Dec. 12, Morgan will visit
students and staff at McCall Elementary School,
Payette Lakes Middle School, McCall- Donnelly
High School and Heartland High School.
On Thursday, Dec. 13, she will visit Donnelly
Elementary School, Cascade schools and the pri-
vate Tamarack Academy at Tamarack Resort.
Students and staff from Boise County schools
have been invited to travel to Cascade that day
to meet with Morgan.
See MORGAN, Page A -10
(Continued from Page A -1)
On Friday, Dec. 14, she will
meetwithMeadows Valley School
District students. Students from
Council have been invited to
attend the New Meadows meet-
ing.
Morgan will have Saturday,
Dec. 15, for herself before re-
turning to Houston on Sunday,
Dec. 16.
Meeting with President
Bush set Wednesday
Morgan and her six fellow
crew members have had a busy
schedule of appearances since
completing their 13 -day mission
to the International Space Station
on Aug. 21, NASA spokesperson
Dana Davis said.
On Wednesday, Morgan and
other crew members were sched-
uled to meet with President Bush
at The White House in Washing-
ton D.C.
The crew's first appearance
after returning to Earth was
walking in a parade at Disney
World in Florida on Sept. 11.
The following day they trav-
eled to Los Angeles, where the
schedule included an appear-
ance on "The Ellen Show" and
"Late Late Show With Craig
Ferguson."
Other appearances in the
weeks that followed included
presentations at NASA sites in
Alabama and Houston and the
Sally Ride Festival in Detroit.
On Nov 8, the Fresno, Calif.,
native was inducted into the
California AviationHall of Fame
in Orange County.
Next week, the Endeavour
crew is scheduled to return to
Disney World to speak to stu-
dents and teachers.
After a break for Thanks-
giving, she will speak to the
national convention of the
AmericanAssociationof Retired
Persons in New York City in
early December before heading
to Idaho.
She will end the year by at-
tending the Fiesta Bowl college
football game in Phoenix, Ariz.,
on Jan. 2.
NASA has "a full notebook"
of requests for appearances by
Morgan, and she is booked as far
out as next October, Davis said.
During the August mission,
Endeavour's crew successfully
added another truss segment,
a new gyroscope and external
spare -parts platform to the In-
ternational Space Station.
lII/'S/o�
S✓.u, O�wa
NASA Photo
McCall astronaut Barbara Morgan demonstrates
weightlessness during her mission on the space
shuttle Endeavour in August.
New elementary school
to be named for Morgan
The new elementary school under con-
struction in McCall will be named after
teacher - astronaut Barbara Morgan, the Mc-
Call- Donnelly School District Board of Trustees
decided on Monday.
There was no debate before the vote by trustees
to name the school Barbara Morgan Elementary
School.
An online survey revealed 421 peopled favored
adopting the name Barbara Morgan Elementary
School, while 200 said to keep the name the same
as the existing McCall Elementary School.
Trustee Neal Thompson moved to name the
school after the astronaut "since the consensus
seems to be that's what people want to do."
See NAME, Page A-10
(Continued from Page A -1)
Thompson added the honor
would be a testimony to Morgan's
perseverance in attaining her goal
of flying on the space shuttle.
Morgan, 55, took flight Aug.
8, after a wait of more than two
decades fraught with two disasters
and more delays.
Morgan was selected as backup
to Christa McAuliffe for NASAs
Teacher in Space project in 1985.
McAuliffe died in the Challenger
space shuttle accident in 1986.
Nineteen other names were
suggested for the school including
Morgan Elementary and Endeavor
Elementary, after the space shuttle
Endeavour Morgan rode into
Earth's orbit. Morgan Elementary
and Endeavor Elementary received
one vote each.
Remaining names garnered
from one to six votes and alluded
to the local area, and included
Jughandle, Whispering Pines,
Payette Lakes, Eagle, Elo and Mc-
Call Pioneer.
Fifteen of those who took the
survey wanted the school renamed
but did not make a suggestion.
The name "Payette Lakes" earned
six votes.
From 1975 to 1978, Morgan
taught remedial reading and math
and second grade at McCall-Don-
nelly Elementary School.
From 1978 to 1979, she taught
English and science to third graders
at Colegio Americano de Quito in
Quito, Ecuador.
From 1979 to 1998, she taught
second, third and fourth grades
at McCall- Donnelly Elementary
School.
In 1998, she was hired by NASA
to become a full -time astronaut
and moved to Houston, where she
trained at Johnson Space Center.
I 1 //..c/o "
Barbara Morgan to take student
questions April 15 on IPTV
Students will have the chance
to ask NASA mission specialist
Barbara Morgan questions about
the experience of space travel
when she is a guest on Dialog for
Kids on Idaho Public Television
on April 15. The hour -long show
will begin at 2 p.m.
HostJoan Cartan-Hansen will
connect with Morgan through a
remote feed, and will help her
address students' questions that
come in duringthe show. Cartan-
Hancan will also ask Morgan
s that are received in
of the show
ugh the program air -
been expanded to a full
xdents are encouraged
ieir questions in early,
rig, because IdahoPTV
expects telephone lines to be
full during the call -in portion
of the show.
Morgan, a former McCall
Elementary School teacher, flew
on the space shuttle Endeavour
last August after 22 years of
waiting in various capacities
with NASA.
Students can send questions
to D4K @idahoptvorg, faxthem in
before the show to (208) 373 -7245,
or call in live during the program
to 800 - 973 -9800.
D4K, produced by Idaho
Public Television, airs the third
Tuesday of the month through-
out the school year and focuses
on a variety of science - related
topics.