Today, NASA launched a shuttle bound for the space center that included a teacher among crew members. The last teacher that had the opportunity to go up in the space shuttle was Christa McAuliffe. She was aboard Challenger, which exploded before reaching orbit in 1986.

The teacher on today’s flight is Barbara Morgan. Morgan was McAuliffe’s backup in 1986. Morgan stated to reporters that she is happy to be fulfilling McAuliffe’s dream.

I was 11-years-old when the Challenger disaster happened, and was living in Florida at the time. Though I was young, I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in the car with my parents when Challenger blew up in the sky. We were traveling down the Interstate, and everyone in the car saw it pretty clearly. I think that people across the country were saddened by it.

I am glad that another teacher has finally gotten the opportunity to experience space flight and to share the experience with students. I wish her the best.