Programs

Challenger Center is one of three sites chosen to have a 20-minute live question-and-answer downlink session with Mission Specialists Barbara Morgan and Benjamin Drew during the flight of STS-118 on Thursday, August 16th. The STS-118 downlink was held at the Challenger Learning Center of Greater Washington located at Challenger Center Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The session included an invited audience of 200 students (including 20 who will be chosen to ask questions via a national poster contest), teachers and special guests (and several astronauts). An Open House celebrating the mission was held on Wednesday August 15th with student activities, NASA exhibits and astronauts and an interactive astronaut webcast with Learning Centers.

The STS-118 mission includes U.S. Navy Commander Scott J. Kelly who will command the seven-person crew. U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Charles O. Hobaugh will be Endeavour's pilot. Veteran astronauts Richard Mastracchio and Dr. Dafydd (Dave) Williams of the Canadian Space Agency will be returning to space for their second missions. Barbara Morgan, Tracy Caldwell, Ph. D., and Benjamin Alvin Drew round out the crew as mission specialists.

Barbara Morgan was the back up to Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space, and is a long-time member of the Challenger Center Council of Advisors. Through STS-118, Barbara Morgan will bridge the objectives set forth in the Teacher in Space Program of the mid-1980's to NASA's current Educator Astronaut Project. With the goal of elevating the teaching profession and using the excitement of space exploration and the experiences of astronauts to inspire and engage the next generation of explorers, Educator Astronauts bring a unique set of skills and talents to the astronaut corps. In addition to their technical assignments, they assist other astronauts in connecting to students and teachers through space exploration.

The families of the Challenger 51-L crew wish to recognize Barbara Morgan for her persistence, dedication, years of training and outstanding service and for her 20 year commitment to support the Challenger Center mission – to keep the spirit of education as an integral part of the NASA space program alive.

For more about the STS-118 mission

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/index.html

For STS-118 educational resources

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stseducation/home/index.html

Major Sponsors of the STS-118 Event

MCKITTRICK & COMPANY

Additional Information

For more information on Challenger Learning Center programs, please contact a Learning Center Coordinator via e-mail at info@challenger.org; by telephone at (877) 443-5701 or (816) 471-7770; or by completing the Feedback Form.