20 years ago, the Columbia disaster: Teacher in space applicant stayed fearless

 

NOTE: To remember the Columbia space shuttle disaster, which occurred 20 years ago today (Feb. 1, 2003), I’m posting two localized stories on the tragedy written by then-Sun Chronicle staff writer John Winters, as well as a column that I wrote about it.
Winters’ two stories are posted first, followed by my column. They appeared in The Sun Chronicle on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003.
This is Winters’ sidebar, in which he talked to teachers, asking their reaction to Columbia’s disaster two decades ago:

BY JOHN WINTERS
SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Plainville school teacher William Fasulo was saddened to watch the space shuttle Columbia break up over Texas Saturday morning. He thought of the families of the astronauts lost in the tragedy, and as someone who is eager to become a part of one of NASA's teacher in space program, the incident was even more troubling.
“It brings back a lot of memories of the Challenger,” he said. “It shocks you, and brings back those memories and what the family of Christa (McAuliffe, the first Teacher in Space who was killed when the shuttle exploded over Florida on Jan. 28, 1986) went through. I can only imagine what these families are now going through. Unfortunately, it's one of the hazards of that particular job.”
Teachers are often among the U.S. space program's biggest boosters. In fact, when people think of the Challenger explosion in 1986, McAuliffe is the person they most closely link to that event.
The Challenger incident had put the Teacher in Space program on hold.
Until recently.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in December announced that the program would begin again and would put Idaho elementary school teacher Barbara Morgan, who was McAuliffe's back-up in 1986, in space in November.
The fate of Morgan's flight and the teacher-in-space program could be in doubt with Saturday's Columbia mishap. Despite the dangers that were on full display Saturday, Fasulo would still like a chance to ride the shuttle.
“I hope this doesn't discourage the shuttle program or put it on the back-burner,” he said.

(UPDATE: Morgan finally realized McAuliffe’s goal of teaching from space when she flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2007 with STS-118, an assembly mission to the International Space Station.)

Other local teachers have also worked with NASA in one way or another, and they had a unique perspective on Saturday's disaster.
Sandra Ollerhead of Attleboro, a math teacher at Mansfield High School, was one of 25 teachers from across the country who in the summer of 2001 participated in a two-week honors program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
She got to see a space shuttle launch at that time, and even sat in the VIP section with the astronauts' families. That added a personal touch to Saturday's tragic events over Texas, she said.
“It was definitely upsetting to see. It's obviously a shock,” she said. “ You think that the space program is without any risks, and it becomes routine. You forget how risky it is.”
Robert Albertini, a North Attleboro High School science teacher, also has had his NASA connections. He was an alternate for the 1986 Teacher in Space flight, and will sign up again if the program continues to go forward.
Saturday's incident both surprised and shocked the Franklin resident.
“I don't think anyone expected this,” he said. “ It's a national horror that has us a little depressed today.”
Albertini said when he gets back in the classroom Monday, he'll discuss the mishap with his students, who will likely be concerned about the fate of the Columbia and its seven astronauts.
“ It might be a good time to do something on space flight and try to head the questions off at the past. We'll talk about the space program and how the shuttle works,” Albertini said.
“I like to put a sense of national pride and sadness when someone does something great and give their lives for it.”