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IdahoPTV special follows Barbara Morgan's space quest |
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A new Idaho Public Television documentary tells the story of perseverance and resolve that lifted former McCall Elementary School teacher Barbara Morgan into space. The special airs Tuesday, March 4, at 7 p.m.MT/PT and repeats Sunday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. MT/PT as part of IdahoPTV's FESTIVAL 2008 programming.
Idaho Public TV has also created lesson plans and resources for teachers about Morgan’s odyssey. IEA helped cover the costs of producing the materials. Visit Barbara Morgan: No Limits to learn more.
Idaho PTV producer Marcia Franklin and videographer Jay Krajic chronicle Morgan's 23-year oddyssey.
"Morgan's tenacity is an example for anyone with a goal, large or small," says producer Franklin. "Stick with it. Don't give up."
Morgan knew immediately she would apply when she heard President Ronald Reagan announce the Teacher-in-Space program on August 27, 1984. "I shot straight up and said, 'Wow'!" she says. "Because as teachers, we're always looking for opportunities to bring the world to our classrooms."
In her application, Morgan stressed her method of active teaching, which incorporates her own life into her lessons, and the need to experience space to teach about it. "I want to get some stardust on me," she wrote. Named runner-up to New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe, Morgan was chosen from 11,000 applicants. When McAuliffe died on the shuttle Challenger in January, 1986, the Teacher-in-Space program was canceled.
"It looked to me personally that ... Barbara Morgan would never get a chance to fly," says Bill Harwood, a veteran CBS reporter.
Rare footage, photographs and interviews with Morgan, her friends, colleagues, students and family show how Morgan does become a full-fledged astronaut, and then overcomes additional challenges. On August 8, 2007, Morgan and her six crewmates blasted off in the Shuttle Endeavour, the beginning of a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The documentary follows the story from McCall to Houston, from Cape Canaveral to the White House, to Boise and back to McCall.
"It's showing that teachers have the right stuff," says friend and fellow teacher Kathy Phelan.
From a 32-year-old schoolteacher to a 55-year-old astronaut, Morgan achieves her dream. "Yes, actually I did get some stardust on me. We all got some stardust on us," she says.
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