1 Congressmen, teachers, and Saudi princes will no longer be invited by NASA to be passengers on the space shuttle under a new policy that emphasizes completing the recovery from the Challenger accident in which two non-astronauts were killed.
2 The space agency announced a new category of 'space flight participants' and said, at the same time, that flight opportunities for them 'are not available at this time.'
3 Before the Challenger exploded on liftoff Jan. 28, 1986, NASA had given minimum training to a senator, a member of the House of Representatives, a Saudi Arabian prince and Christa McAuliffe, the first 'Teacher in Space.'
4 Mrs. McAuliffe was killed along with industrial engineer Gregory Jarvis and five astronauts.
5 'The Challenger accident marked a major change in the U.S. outlook and policies with respect to the flight of other than NASA astronauts,' the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in the policy statement Thursday.
6 'NASA and interested external parties, domestic and international, must re-examine previous understandings, expectations, and commitments regarding flight opportunities.'
7 At the time of the Challenger explosion, the process of choosing a reporter to fly on the shuttle was in its final stages.
8 Committees had winnowed down thousands of applications to 40.
9 When the shuttle does begin flying non-essential passengers again, NASA said, a teacher will be the first.
10 The agency said that for now, flight opportunities generally will be limited to professional astronauts and payload specialists essential for mission requirements while it works to improve the reliability of the shuttle and reduces a payload backlog.
11 The new space flight participant category embraces those 'whose presence on board the space shuttle is not required for operation of payloads or for other essential mission mission activities, but is determined by the administrator of NASA to contribute to other approved NASA objectives or to be in the national interest.'
12 Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, flew on the shuttle in April 1985 and Rep. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was aboard in January 1986, at the invitation of NASA's administrator.
13 Both hold positions important to the space program on congressional committees and the official explanation was that the flights were important to their oversight responsibilities.
14 In 1985, shuttle passengers included Sultan Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia and Rodolfo Neri Vela, a Mexican.
15 They were aboard, NASA said, to 'observe' the launches of the Arabsat and Morelos-B communications satellites for their countries.
16 NASA said that while it remains committed to a long-term goal of providing such flight opportunities it is devoting its energies to proving that the shuttle is safe and reliable.
17 'Accordingly, flight opportunities for space flight participants are not available at this time,' NASA said.
18 'When NASA determines that a flight opportunity is available for a space flight participant, first priority will be given to a Teacher in Space in fulfillment of space education plans.'
19 All shuttle flights will be planned with a minimum crew of five NASA astronauts and can be increased to a maximum of seven for payload or other mission requirements, the agency said.
20 Such added crew members have to be chosen at least 12 months before the flight and first consideration will be given to NASA's own people.

Mrs . McAuliffe was killed along with industrial engineer Gregory Jarvis and five astronauts .
five astronauts
Who were the five astronauts killed?