| Scope of Study. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established the Space Flight Participant Program as a means to offer periodic opportunities for private citizens to fly on space shuttle missions, with the purpose of communicating the mission experience to the general public.; This paper discusses the first flight opportunity--the NASA Teacher in Space Project--provided under this new initiative. Included in the discussion will be a review of the process that led to the selection of the first Space Flight Participant, a summary of the training activities to prepare the participant for a mission, and an outline of educational activities offered by NASA in conjunction with shuttle mission 51-L.; Findings and Conclusions. The Teacher in Space Program (TISP) will continue to be an active component of NASA's Educational Affairs Division. Although the decision has not been made as to when the TIS designee will fly, the educational goals on which the TISP rests will continue to be implemented through the activities of the Teacher in Space Foundation (TISF), the TIS designee, the finalists, and the Space Ambassadors. The goals of the TISP are entirely compatible with the educational purposes of the Educational Affairs Division, which converts NASA's emerging technology such as Space Station, Space Telescope, and the National Aero-Space Plane into educational formats that can be used for educational motivation at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. |
