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NASA To Resume "Teacher in Space" Program
Bishop923 writes "According to this CNN story it appears that NASA is resuming the Teacher in Space program with the first teacher to go up in 2004. The Teacher in Space program was suspended after Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher, and the rest of the crew perished in the Challenger Explosion." This is also the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961; we did a good write-up last year.
I realize that it's a very symbolic and generous thing for NASA to do the whole teachers-in-space program. But what do we really get out of sending someone's 7th grade Earth Science teacher into orbit? Is it worth tens of millions of dollars for the ride, plus a several millions more in training expenses, to have this teacher bring up his/her class's bean sprout experiments, give two TV interviews, go on the high school lecture circuit, and mabye publish a book or two? ("Teachers Among The Stars: Education in the Space Age")
Probably not. NASA is looking for publicity, and frankly, that's what I would hope they get out of this program, too. I mean, it is public interest in the space program that is going to determine whether we send men to Mars ten years from now, or fifty.
I want a space-teacher who will be able to spark the interest of a whole generation of children, and teachers, and parents. Someone who actually has the talent to make people interested and excited about space, science, and exploration. Someone who will be able to reach an audience. Someone cool. Someone we trust.
I want Bill Nye to go up to the space station, and I want him to do cool experiments and film half a dozen special episodes of Bill Nye, The Science Guy up there. He's worth twenty 8th grade Earth Science teachers.
The angel in the oatmeal.
My wrestling coach, who is also a physics teacher, recently went to a national teacher science convention, and he told us (us being the wrestlers), about this. He applied for it, did the preliminary testing and such offered at the convention, etc. The NASA guys told him that all but 10% of the teachers there were ruled out in the beginning, due to not being physically fit, and things like that (The Challenger teacher was a marathon runner in addition to her job). He survived to the 10%. It will be interesting to see how far he gets in the process.
Hello AC. You will surely be disheartened to learn that my first multimedia download (a QuickTime movie) was the Challenger explosion. Sound and everything. Pretty boring from launch up to about 77 seconds, as I recall.
I couldn't find the video from the extrememly sadistic CNN cameraman who immediately panned away from the explosion and zoomed in on Christie McAuliffe's parents to capture their horrified reaction as their beloved daughter turned into a crispy critter before their very eyes. But of course they didn't have google back then.
And yes, I'm aware that the Challenger crew didn't actually die until their compartment hit the water after falling back to earth. I remember something about Rockwell funneling money from the Space Shuttle program over to the B-1 program, which is the sort of thing that SHOULD get you up on a soapbox about immorality and stupidity. Jokes are not immoral, greed is.
Another thing: Post-Titanic, all boats had to have enough life jackets and life boats for everyone on board. Where's the big-ass parachute on the crew compartment, that would have saved athe Challenger crew, some of whom had activated their oxygen packs after the explosion, prior to going splat in the ocean?
That STILL pisses me off. Far more than any tasteless joke. They didn't have to die. They were alive, dammit.
On the other hand, Peggy Noonan got to write a kick-ass speech, perfectly delivered by Wise Old Papa Reagan. That was what had me in tears on Jan 28 1986. Since then I've learned to not be emotionally manipulated by politicians.