Twenty-one Years Later There's Finally a Teacher in Space

On January 28, 1986 Christa McAuliffe was set to become the first teacher in space as she was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. The flight lasted barely a minute before the Shuttle blew apart. McAuliffe's backup on that flight, Barbara Morgan, was watching from below. The explosion ended the teacher in space program and set the entire space program back several years.

Just a few minutes ago Barbara Morgan finally became the teacher in space that had been planned for so many years ago:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Endeavour blasted off carrying teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan, who after more than two decades is finally carrying out the dream of teacher Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the fallen Challenger crew.

Endeavour and its crew of seven rose from the seaside pad at 6:36 p.m. (2236 GMT), right on time, and pierced a solidly blue sky. They're expected to reach the international space station in two days.

"Good luck, godspeed and have some fun up there," launch director Michael Leinbach said.

Morgan was McAuliffe's backup for the Challenger mission; that shuttle blew up shortly after it launched in 1986. Even after two space shuttle disasters, Morgan never swayed in her dedication to NASA and the agency's on-and-off quest to send a schoolteacher into space. She rocketed away in the center seat of the cabin's lower compartment, the same seat that had been occupied by McAuliffe.

I can't help but wonder what she was thinking when she heard the "go at throttle up" call. God speed.