Twenty years

If you followed NASA's trials and triumphs in the 1980's (or keep up on your NASA history), then at least one of the women to the left is immediately recognizable. Yes, the astonaut on the right (photo courtesy of NASA) is Christa McAuliffe, who perished with her fellow crewmates when the Challenger exploded seventy-three seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986.

Who's that on the left? Barbara Morgan. The 33-year old schoolteacher was selected as Christa's backup, and trained alongside her. After the Challenger disaster, she became "Teacher in Space Designee", and traveled and spoke on NASA's behalf. Later in 1986, she returned to the classroom.

NASA selected Barbara as an astronaut trainee (the first of a new class: the Educator Astronaut) in 1998. Barbara trained, then served in the Operations and CAPCOM Branches. She was to have flown on STS-118 in November of 2003, but the Columbia disaster prevented that. Her mission is now scheduled for 2006. After having her dream put on hold for twenty years, Barbara will hopefully be able to teach a lesson from space next year.