WASHINGTON -- NASA has put its journalist-in-space project on hold, citing indefinite delays in the space shuttle program as a result of the Challenger accident, officials announced Monday.
Eric Johnson, journalist-in-space project director at the University of South Carolina, said in a letter to the 40 national semifinalists that NASA has suspended the competition to become the first reporter in space.
'Since the Challenger accident earlier this year, NASA has been undergoing a thorough review of all activities associated with shuttle launch operations and the impact that launch delays will have on related activities,' Johnson said.
'It has become evident that it will be several years before they will be able to include a journalist on a shuttle mission.'
NASA Administrator James Fletcher announced earlier Monday that the first flight of a shuttle following the Jan. 28 Challenger disaster had been delayed another six months to early 1988.
Johnson said Ann Bradley, NASA associate deputy administrator, told the journalist-in-space project the final selection process 'will remain on hold until NASA is able to identify a definite mission, which could include a journalist participant.'
At that time, Johnson said, the 40 national semifinalists selected in a national competition in April and May 'will be contacted to assess their interest and availability to resume as participants in the program.'
The flight of a journalist aboard a shuttle was to follow the flight of school teacher Christa McAuliffe. She was among the seven crew members killed when Challenger exploded Jan. 28.
NASA announced the journalist-in-space project last year and more that 1,700 reporters applied from across the nation. A total of 100 regional semifinalists were chosen in March and the field was narrowed down to the final 40, eight journalists from each of five regions.
The 40 national semifinalists include 15 who work for newspapers, 12 for television, two for radio, three for magazines, three for wire services and five freelance journalists.
The plan originally was to narrow the 40 semifinalists down to five finalists this fall. Those five contestants then would undergo physical exams at the Johnson Space Center in Houston with NASA selecting a journalist to fly in orbit and a backup.
Before the Challenger accident, NASA planned to fly a journalist on a shuttle this fall.
The project was coordinated by the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, which is located at the University of South Carolina.
