Teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan spent her first full day in space Thursday putting into practice the nine years of classes she took as a student at NASA.
Among the tasks that Morgan tackled was an inspection of space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield. Morgan steered the shuttle's robotic arm to sweep a camera and lasers over the shuttle's wing to check for any damage incurred during Wednesday's liftoff.
Morgan and her six crewmates "are having a great time," flight director Matt Abbott said. "Every one of the crewmembers looked like they're having a ball."
In 1986 Morgan watched as shuttle Challenger, carrying her friend and fellow teacher Christa McAuliffe, exploded shortly after liftoff. Morgan, McAuliffe's backup, left her Idaho classroom in 1998 to become a full-time astronaut.
The shuttle is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station today. Morgan will help operate the mechanism that attaches the shuttle to the station. On Tuesday she'll use the shuttle's robotic arm to lift a storage shelf out of the shuttle's cargo bay and deliver it to the station.
The work of Morgan and the rest of the Endeavour crew Thursday drew praise from Mission Control.
"We've been real impressed by how much diligence and hard work and judgment you've shown," said astronaut Stephen Robinson, who served as the contact between the crew and flight controllers.
"Super job today on all the surveys and all the arm" operations, said astronaut Robert Kimbrough, who followed Robinson as the crew's link to Mission Control. "I know it's a lot of hard work."
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Among the tasks that Morgan tackled was an inspection of space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield. Morgan steered the shuttle's robotic arm to sweep a camera and lasers over the shuttle's wing to check for any damage incurred during Wednesday's liftoff.
Morgan and her six crewmates "are having a great time," flight director Matt Abbott said. "Every one of the crewmembers looked like they're having a ball."
In 1986 Morgan watched as shuttle Challenger, carrying her friend and fellow teacher Christa McAuliffe, exploded shortly after liftoff. Morgan, McAuliffe's backup, left her Idaho classroom in 1998 to become a full-time astronaut.
The shuttle is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station today. Morgan will help operate the mechanism that attaches the shuttle to the station. On Tuesday she'll use the shuttle's robotic arm to lift a storage shelf out of the shuttle's cargo bay and deliver it to the station.
The work of Morgan and the rest of the Endeavour crew Thursday drew praise from Mission Control.
"We've been real impressed by how much diligence and hard work and judgment you've shown," said astronaut Stephen Robinson, who served as the contact between the crew and flight controllers.
"Super job today on all the surveys and all the arm" operations, said astronaut Robert Kimbrough, who followed Robinson as the crew's link to Mission Control. "I know it's a lot of hard work."
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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