Jan 12, 2007
Allard Beutel Headquarters, Washington 202-358-4769
Debbie V Nguyen Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111
Roger Bornstein Space Center Houston 281-244-2135
MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-006
EDUCATOR ASTRONAUT BARBARA MORGAN TO MEET STUDENTS AND MEDIA
HOUSTON - NASA's first educator astronaut and former Idaho school teacher Barbara Morgan, set to fly in space this summer, will meet with hundreds of students during "Meet an Astronaut Day" at Space Center Houston Jan 19 Morgan also will be available for in-person and satellite interviews
Media are invited to attend the 10:30 a m CST event in the center's Northrop Grumman theater Interview opportunities also are available Media should arrive in time to attend a 9 a m briefing in the center's Saturn Club that will provide background on NASA's Educator Astronaut project
During her session with the students, Morgan will talk about her role on the crew of space shuttle mission STS-118, an International Space Station assembly flight targeted for launch June 28 Also talking with students will be fellow STS-118 crew member Dave Williams and STS-118 flight directors Matt Abbott and Joel Montalbano Morgan, Williams, Abbott and Montalbano will be available for brief, in-person interviews following the hour-long event
For media not planning to attend, Morgan will be available for live satellite interviews Jan 19 from 4 p m to 6 p m To participate, contact NASA's Johnson Space Center newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 3 p m Jan 18 The interviews will be conducted on the NASA Television analog satellite located at AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude; transponder 5C, 3800 MHz, vertical polarization, with audio at 6 8 MHz
The full schedule of Jan 19 activities includes (all times Central):
A native of Fresno, Calif , and a Stanford alumna, Morgan began teaching in 1974 She began working with NASA in 1985, when she was selected as the backup to Christa McAuliffe for the Teacher in Space Program In that role, Morgan trained with McAuliffe, who was lost with her crew mates in the Space Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986
Following the accident, Morgan returned to McCall, Idaho, and continued her teaching career, teaching second, third and fourth grades She also continued a close association with NASA as the Teacher in Space designee, working with NASA's Education Division In 1998, Morgan was selected by NASA as the first educator astronaut in a new project The Educator Astronaut Project carries on the objectives of the Teacher in Space Program, seeking to elevate teaching as a profession and inspire students Unlike the Teacher in Space Program, educator astronauts train and become full-time, permanent astronauts They fly as crew members with critical mission responsibilities, as well as education-related goals NASA selected three additional educator astronauts in 2004
Commanding Morgan's STS-118 mission on the Space Shuttle Endeavour will be U S Navy Commander Scott Kelly The Pilot for the mission is Marine Lt Col Charlie Hobaugh The flight's mission specialists are Morgan, Rick Mastracchio, Tracy Caldwell, Clay Anderson and Williams, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut The mission will take Anderson to the International Space Station to begin a stay and return to Earth the station's Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams, now on the orbiting laboratory
During STS-118, Morgan's primary duties will include operating the robotic arms of the shuttle and station as crew members install a new section of the station's girder-like truss and replace a failed gyroscope, among other tasks
NASA TV will air b-roll of Morgan and the STS-118 crew training, as well as a prerecorded interview with Morgan, beginning Jan 16 For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www nasa gov/ntv
For more information about STS-118 and its crew, visit:
http://www nasa gov/shuttle
-end-
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