Barbara Morgan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Morgan
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Morgan in 2006
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Barbara Radding
November 28, 1951 Fresno, California, U.S.
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Time in space
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12d 17h 53m |
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| Missions | STS-118 |
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Mission insignia
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Barbara Radding Morgan (born November 28, 1951) is an American teacher and a former NASA astronaut. She was part of the Teacher in Space Project in 1985. She was the backup for Christa McAuliffe for the 1986 unfortunate STS-51-L mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Later, in 1998, NASA chose her to become a full-time astronaut. She trained as a mission specialist and flew into space on STS-118 in August 2007. This made her the first teacher by original career to travel to space.
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Growing Up and School
Barbara Morgan was born in 1951 in Fresno, California. She went to Herbert Hoover High School there. After high school, she studied at Stanford University in California. In 1973, she earned a degree in Human Biology. She then got her teaching certificate in 1974 from Notre Dame de Namur University.
Her Teaching Career
Morgan started teaching in 1974 at an elementary school in Arlee, Montana. She helped students with reading and math. From 1975 to 1978, she taught second grade in McCall, Idaho. She also taught English and science to third graders in Quito, Ecuador, for a year. From 1979 to 1998, Morgan taught second, third, and fourth grades back at McCall-Donnelly Elementary School.
The Teacher in Space Project
Barbara Morgan was chosen as the backup teacher for NASA's Teacher in Space Project on July 19, 1985. She trained with Christa McAuliffe and the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas.
Sadly, the Challenger mission ended in a disaster. After this sad event, Morgan continued to work with NASA. She spoke to many educational groups across the country. In 1986, she went back to teaching in Idaho. She taught second and third grades and kept working with NASA's Education Division. Her work included giving speeches, helping with school programs, and designing lessons.
Becoming a NASA Astronaut
In January 1998, 12 years after the Challenger accident, NASA selected Morgan as an astronaut candidate. She started her training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998. After two years of training, she became a full-time astronaut. She worked in Mission Control, talking to astronauts in space.
Like many astronauts, Morgan is also an amateur radio operator. This allowed her to talk to students from space using the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) project.
Morgan was first set to fly on the STS-118 mission on Space Shuttle Columbia in 2004. But the Columbia was lost in a disaster in 2003. Because of this, her mission was delayed until 2007 and moved to Endeavour.
NASA called Morgan a "mission specialist educator." But her duties were the same as any other mission specialist. She was a regular astronaut who happened to be a teacher. Before her flight, Morgan said she felt proud to be part of something that helps humanity go further. She said looking at Earth from space makes you realize how important it is what we are trying to do as humans.
After her space mission, Morgan gave her first space education talk at Walt Disney World. Her words from that day are on a "Wall of Honor" there, next to quotes from famous people like Neil Armstrong and Christa McAuliffe.
Her Space Mission: STS-118
STS-118 was a mission to help build the International Space Station. It launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on August 8, 2007. Morgan worked as the robotic arm operator. She also helped move over 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) of supplies to the Space Station. She brought back over 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of items to Earth.
During her mission, Morgan also used amateur radio to answer questions from young people. She talked to students at the Discovery Center of Idaho and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. The mission landed safely on August 21, 2007.
After NASA
On June 28, 2008, Morgan announced she would leave NASA. She took a teaching job at Boise State University in Idaho. In August 2008, she became a special educator there. She helps the university with science, technology, engineering, and math programs.
In July 2008, she received the "Friend of Education" award. The next month, a new school opened in McCall, Idaho, named Barbara R. Morgan Elementary School.
She also appeared in a 2020 Netflix documentary series called Challenger: The Final Flight.
Awards and Recognition
Morgan received the Adler Planetarium Women in Space Science Award in 2008.
An actress named Mary Chris Wall played Barbara Morgan in a 1990 TV movie called Challenger.
Her Family and Hobbies
Barbara Morgan is married to writer Clay Morgan. They have two sons. She loves playing the classical flutist and enjoys jazz music. She also likes reading, hiking, swimming, and cross-country skiing.
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Morgan para niños
