Teacher, Astronaut Candidate, Test Editor

Recently she brought a space shuttle tile and a cross-section of a shuttle fuel tank to work to help co-workers better understand discussions about the Columbia accident. These aren't standard supplies for employees working on the science test. Goetsch was a teacher candidate who interviewed with NASA in the mid-1980s.

As a junior high science teacher, Goetsch was one of two teachers from Iowa selected in 1985 to compete in the NASA Teacher in Space program. Christa McAuliffe was selected and perished aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger.

In January NASA announced plans to send Barbara Morgan, an Idaho second- and third-grade teacher, on an October shuttle trip as the second teacher in space. Morgan was in the teacher candidate group in 1985 with Goetsch and 114 other teachers from across the country. After the Columbia tragedy, NASA said it is still committed to making education part of the shuttle mission's program. NASA plans to add three to six teachers to the astronaut corps; hundreds of teachers applied for the program even after the Columbia tragedy.

The teacher candidates are a close group, keeping in touch via e-mail and planning to attend Morgan's launch when it occurs. Goetsch agrees that the education tie to the space program is important and should continue.

“Obviously, both shuttle accidents were incredibly sad events. Commentators pointed out that people die exploring the oceans, exploring the rain forest, and other frontiers. We have to keep exploring. I'm a supporter of manned space flight because I think there are things that cannot be done by robots. The Hubbell space telescope is one. It revolutionized astronomy, but it could not have been launched on an unmanned craft. Dozens of items developed for manned space travel have benefitted all humans. These include heart monitors, Teflon, and Velcro. Even though we can't see the connection sometimes, the results of experiments in space help us learn more about life on earth.”