STS-118 to regulate, monitor, and shut them down in case of trouble; the new system extends and improves the monitoring capability for increased safety.) "Endeavour" also received several systems that the other orbiters had already been equipped with, such as a glass cockpit, improved wing leading-edge sensors and the OBSS. STS-118 included mission specialist Barbara Morgan, the first Mission Specialist Educator. Morgan trained as the backup to Christa McAuliffe, NASA's Teacher in Space candidate from 1985 to 1986. McAuliffe was killed in the space shuttle "Challenger" accident on 28 January 1986. While McAuliffe and Morgan were classified as spaceflight participants and
Christa McAuliffe to investigate the disaster. It determined that the accident was due to a failure of rubber O-rings made by Morton-Thiokol that provided a pressure seal in the aft field joint of the shuttle's right Solid Rocket Booster. The failure of the O-rings was attributed to a design flaw, as their performance could be too easily compromised by factors that included the low temperature on the day of launch. The Commission found that O-ring resiliency is directly related to temperature and due to the low temperature at launch—36 degrees Fahrenheit or 15 degrees lower than the next coldest previous launch—it was