Eyes to the Sky: Teachers Return to Space as Part of Shuttle Launch

Two science teachers have become astronauts.

Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold II spent the past five years training for a space mission. They blasted into space on March 15 on the space shuttle Discovery.

It is the first time two former teachers have joined the same mission. And they are only the second and third former teachers to go to space since the Challenger disaster.

Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off in 1987. The blast killed all seven astronauts. Christa McAuliffe was among the dead.

She was the first teacher to go on a shuttle mission.

Both taught math and science
Acaba taught math and science at a Florida high school before beginning NASA training. Arnold taught high school math and science in Maryland and overseas.

Both said their presence on the flight sends a strong message to students.

“Teachers have to think on their feet. They have to adjust all the time, and I think that is part of what we do as astronauts,” Acaba said. “We train for specific things, but you never really know what is going to happen.”

The Discovery mission took Acaba, Arnold and the crew to the international space station. The pair performed several spacewalks while they were docked.

One spacewalk took 6-1/2 hours. On the walk, Acaba and another astronaut loosened bolts on batteries, hooked up antennae and took pictures of a pair of radiators.

Trip was symbolic for NASA
The mission was about more than work, however. It was also symbolic. It showed NASA’s continued commitment to sending teachers into space.

Barbara Morgan was the first teacher on a shuttle mission since the Challenger tragedy. She went to space in 2007.

Morgan trained with McAuliffe before the Challenger. She would have replaced McAuliffe if she had been sick or injured.

And Morgan was also scheduled to fly on Columbia. Columbia, however, exploded on its way back to earth in 2003. All eight astronauts on board died.

“It all goes back to what we are doing and why we are doing it, and space exploration is very, very important,” Morgan said in 2003. “It is important to us as human beings and, certainly from my point of view as a teacher, it is crucial for our kids and for the future.”

For Jane Ashman, principal at Acaba’s former high school, Acaba and Arnold’s mission sends a powerful message to students.

“You can achieve your dream, whatever it is,” she said. “You can be anything you want.”