Barbara Radding Morgan is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She participated in the Teacher in Space program as backup to Christa McAuliffe for the 1986 ill-fated STS-51-L mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. She then trained as a mission specialist, and flew on STS-118 in August 2007. She is the first teacher to have been to space.
Morgan in 2006
Christa McAuliffe and Morgan in December 1985
The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) was a NASA program announced by Ronald Reagan in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration. The project would carry teachers into space as Payload Specialists, who would return to their classrooms to share the experience with their students.
Barbara Morgan and Christa McAuliffe, backup and primary TISP participants for Mission STS-51-L