WASHINGTON -- NASAs plans to send former Idaho elementary school teacher Barbara Morgan to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 is the highlight of Sean OKeefes heralded April 12 speech at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York.

NASAs public affairs operation promoted OKeefes speech as a "major address", but aside from the Teacher in Space announcement, there is little in the speech that OKeefe has not already articulated in various public talks he has given since taking office in January.

"The only way to really comprehend our climate and to protect the scarce resources of our little blue planet is to look at the Earth as a single, whole system," OKeefe said. "The mission is to understand and protect our planet. Protection includes using our scare resources to improve life on Earth by living in an environmentally sound manner," OKeefe said. "NASAs contribution will be to help collect the data [President George W. Bush] has called for to frame the policy choices we must consider to meet the challenges of climate change and establish responsible international environmental standards."

Studying the Earth as a system is already a central goal of NASAs Earth Sciences Enterprise, which operates a fleet of Earth-observing science spacecraft.

In the vision OKeefe articulates, protecting the Earth incorporates NASA aeronautics programs focused on safer, cleaner air transportation. It also includes lending a hand in the U.S. effort to combat global terrorism.

"Protection of our home planet includes sharing NASAs unique technology and imagery with other government agencies, academia and industry, to thwart those who seek to do harm or arrest trends that diminish our quality of lie," OKeefe said.

OKeefe raises the possibility that NASA might be able to develop technology that could have prevented the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"It is not a technology leap to design systems to preclude the use of commercial aircraft as weapons," OKeefe said. "This goal were working on is an imperative inspired by the events of September 11, which touched us all and NASA was no exception."

In the speech, OKeefe said that the search for life couple with solid science will drive NASA exploration of the universe. Repeating a point he has made on a number of occasions, OKeefe said that NASA "will go where the science dictates that we go, not because its close or popular."

OKeefe borrows a term from the Pentagon when he said robotic and human space flight must stop functioning as independent, self-contained programs and start working together toward common goals. "NASA must eliminate the stovepipes and build an integrated strategy that links human space flight and robotic space flight in a stepping stone approach to exploration and discovery," OKeefe said.

OKeefe also said NASA will renew its commitment to education to inspire the next generation of space explorers. To that end, OKeefe will announce that Morgan will fly the space shuttle to the international space station in 2004. Morgan, 50, originally trained as Christa McAuliffes back-up for the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger mission that claimed the lives of McAuliffe and her six crew mates. Morgan has not yet been assigned to a specific mission.

Morgan has been in training since NASA resumed the Teacher in Space program in 1998. Her mission is slated for 2004 shortly after the scheduled completion of the core elements of the international space station.