Talk:Barbara Morgan

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Contents 1 Revert banned user 2 Lesson statement 3 First? 4 Thrice defied 5 Per NASA: Barbara Morgan is not an Educator Astronaut 6 Keep it neutral

[edit] Revert banned user

Reverted edits by 71.141.2.150 (talk) to last version by Musical Linguist --FloNight ^talk 04:38, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Lesson statement

The statement that Morgan will teach the same lesson as Christa McAuliffe contradicts Teacher in Space, and I don't know which is correct. Luigi30 (Taλk) 02:10, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First?

The article states Morgan is the first astronaut to be designated as an Educator Mission Specialist or "teacher in space". Wouldn't she be the second with Christa McAuliffe being the first? Dwp49423 16:46, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Morgan is the first person to be named an "Educator Mission Specialist" (sometimes referred to as an "Educator Astronaut"). McAuliffe was referred to by NASA as a "Teacher in Space", a payload specialist, or a spaceflight participant. Rillian 19:29, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thrice defied

Supposedly she was originally also meant to be onboard shuttle Columbia, when it exploded in 2003. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.131.210.162 (talk) 13:42, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Please provide a reliable verifiable source if you think that's true and like the information included into the article. KTC 12:11, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

From [1]:

Then, in February 2003, nine months before Morgan was finally scheduled to launch, the shuttle Columbia exploded upon re-entry. It was the same craft she would have ridden later that year.

Nibios 15:58, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

That means she was originally scheduled to fly on Columbia for her first mission as an astronaut, not that she was scheduled to be on STS-117. So, as coincedences go, she was back-up to McAuliffe on Challenger which explodes, then she becomes a full-fledged astronaut and the orbiter that is to take her on her first mission breaks apart during re-entry. Rillian 18:01, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Per NASA: Barbara Morgan is not an Educator Astronaut

Direct quote from NASA Administrator Michael Griffin in Post-Landing Briefing today. I haven't been following this so I'm making no edits that this fact may require, as others apparently have a better understanding of this than I do. But my understanding from this is Barb was a teacher but when she was accepted as an astronaut, entered in as a Mission Specialist Astronaut, and is not in any way given the title Educator (Mission Specialist or otherwise) Astronaut. She's, per Griffin, quite simply an astronaut. - Ageekgal 19:19, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

The notation I made was simply to clarify that as far as NASA is concerned, she's a mission specialist, and was accepted as such in 1998. The first true "Mission Specialist Educators" were not selected until 2004. However, NASA does use the terms interchangeably with regards to Morgan in a variety of web pages about the educator program, which is why I clarified that. Griffin was fairly adamant during the post-landing news conference, probably because the media's continued focus on Morgan was downplaying the actual achievements of the entire mission, and he wanted to bring the focus back to the goal of building the station. His comment was "She is an astronaut who used to be a teacher." So you are correct. ^Ariel♥Gold 22:58, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Keep it neutral

It is easy to be very enthusiastic for this patient woman, but please keep the prose neutral. As far as I am concerned, she only gets one quote.--76.203.127.31 22:22, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm a bit confused, quoting someone's statements relevant to their most notable acheivement, on an article about the person, is not at all "non-neutral". Are you simply objecting to the use of the blue quotation marks? Because it is perfectly valid to quote someone's statements in an article about themselves, if it is a quotation, properly sourced, that is completely neutral. Now, if this were not an article about Barbara Morgan, her life, her achievements, then I could see being concerned, but you are saying that her own article doesn't deserve to have her quotes in it? I'm sorry, but that does not make much sense to me. ^Ariel♥Gold 22:35, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

It is OK to indicate that somebody is enthusiastic, but if their words do not convey new information about them, then it is best avoided. If Morgan wanted to announce that she had cancer or wanted to fly again or mistakes she might have made on the flight, then great. Pure enthusiam is not really a fact outside of that person's mind. If you can prove to me that her specific communications caused other specific astronauts or people aspiring to be astronauts did something different than they otherwise would have, then that should be included. But just raw enthusiasm (which could easily have as much to do with having gotten home safely) does not deserve much notice. If she ends up making some memorable speeches, then we can start a section in wikiquotes. I tend to shun quotes and go for brilliant prose in our own authentic voice unless they inform us of NPOV fact unambiguously.--Mineo3 06:34, 23 August 2007 (UTC)