Word: missioners
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...could ever get her chance to fly would be to quit the teaching profession and become a professional astronaut, relegating kids' education from space to a much more incidental part of her responsibilities. She applied for a slot and in 1998 was selected; she is now flying as a mission specialist, responsible for operating the robotic arm of both the shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS), with which the crew will be docking...
...materials manufacturing - since President Ronald Reagan first proposed it in 1984, and has never been able to deliver. Meanwhile, the shuttle Columbia claimed the lives of another seven astronauts in 2003, a disaster Morgan was once again on hand to witness, this time as capsule communicator, in Mission Control...
...astronauts seemed to feel the need to argue for the mission too. "This is serious business we're in here," shuttle commander Scott Kelly radioed shortly before liftoff, as if spacewatchers needed to be reminded of that fact...
Morgan, meantime, will fulfill McAuliffe's legacy, if in a slightly new capacity. No longer a Teacher in Space, but now an "Educator Astronaut," she will teach at least one live lesson from orbit, and up to two more if the mission is extended from 11 to 14 days, as it might be. She is also carrying a cargo of 10 million cinnamon basil seeds (a figure she playfully rounds up to "a kazillion,"), which will be distributed to schoolchildren to grow post-flight, so that they can observe any anomalies that might be attributable to the stint in weightlessness...
...mountaintop home in western North Carolina. Last week they asked him if he'd be willing to share some thoughts about life since Ruth, his beloved wife of nearly 64 years, died in June. His moving reflections, which combine both aching sadness and his continuing sense of mission, are included in this week's cover stories...