I am a physics/computer science HS teacher, and have been getting students involved directly with NASA scientists and engineers through the NASA Student Involvement Program. Last week, my students and I attended a launch of a NASA suborbital rocket carrying our experiment to space. The students design, and build their own experiments in NASA's only nationwide competition of this sort. The program affects a few thousand of the best and most motivated students in the country, and perhaps as important, the best and most motivated TEACHERS in the country.

The program, which has existed in some form since the days of Skylab, will not be funded next year according to what we the teachers were told. A grass roots effort is being organized to look for support of this $1 million dollar program that is the highlight of NASA outreach and a critical tool in their effort to "inspire the next generation." I've been told that NASA Education is in financial trouble because the previous administration at NASA started several "pathfinder" education programs without budgeting them. In the Space Grant world, many of these programs have not been seen as a success. In light of all this, the frustration level over the cancellation of such an important program is a more clear.

Can you help shed light on this "inspirational" loss? More information is available at our website:http://www.columbus2space.org

Ever upward,

Luther W. Richardson, Jr.
Columbus High School Physics
Student Space Program Lead Scientist
Physics Department
AUBURN UNIVERSITY