Teacher in Space Project

The Teacher in Space Project (TISP) was a <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> program announced by <a href="/facts/Ronald_Reagan/z6AaKAad">Ronald Reagan</a> in 1984 designed to inspire students, honor teachers, and spur interest in mathematics, science, and space exploration. The project would carry teachers into space as <a href="/facts/Payload_specialist/4nMY8GEd">payload specialists</a> (non-astronaut civilians), who would return to their classrooms to share the experience with their students.
NASA cancelled the program in 1990, following the death of its first participant, <a href="/facts/Christa_McAuliffe/Fq9xeu1z">Christa McAuliffe</a>, in the <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster/HMBh3T7Q">Space Shuttle Challenger disaster</a> (<a href="/facts/STS-51-L/5zBPndgw">STS-51-L</a>) on January 28, 1986. NASA replaced Teachers in Space in 1998 with the <a href="/facts/Educator_Astronaut_Project/GJSmSINU">Educator Astronaut Project</a>, which required its participants to become astronaut <a href="/facts/Mission_Specialist/zvYb4mCz">Mission Specialists</a>. The first Educator Astronauts were selected as part of <a href="/facts/NASA_Astronaut_Group_19/Bn4drmxL">NASA Astronaut Group 19</a> in 2004.
<a href="/facts/Barbara_Morgan/WhRFRKh1">Barbara Morgan</a>, who was selected as a mission specialist as part of <a href="/facts/NASA_Astronaut_Group_17/rptG7sp4">NASA Astronaut Group 17</a> in 1998, has often been incorrectly referred to as an Educator Astronaut. However, she was selected as a mission specialist before the Educator Astronaut Project.

Teacher in Space Project open-in-new

Teacher in Space Project