Christa McAuliffe - Wikipedia Christa McAuliffe Christa McAuliffe NASA Space flight participant Nationality American Status Killed during mission Sharon Christa Corrigan ( 1948 - 09 - 02 ) September 2, 1948 Boston, Massachusetts January 28, 1986 ( 1986 - 01 - 28 ) ( aged 37 ) Cape Canaveral, Florida Other occupation Teacher Selection Teacher in Space Project ( 1985 ) Missions STS - 51 - L Mission insignia Awards Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( born Sharon Christa Corrigan ; September 2, 1948 -- January 28, 1986 ) was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire and one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She received her bachelor 's degree in education and history from Framingham State College in 1970 and also a master 's degree in education, supervision and administration from Bowie State University in 1978. She took a teaching position as a social studies teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire in 1983. In 1985, she was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to participate in the NASA Teacher in Space Project and was scheduled to become the first teacher in space. As a member of mission STS - 51 - L, she was planning to conduct experiments and teach two lessons from Space Shuttle Challenger. On January 28, 1986, the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch. After her death, schools and scholarships were named in her honor, and in 2004 she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Contents 1 Early life 2 Teacher in Space Project 3 Disaster and aftermath 4 Legacy 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Early life Sharon Christa Corrigan was born on September 2, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the eldest of the five children of accountant Edward Christopher Corrigan ( 1922 -- 1990 ) of Irish descent and Grace Mary Corrigan ( née George ), a substitute teacher, whose father was of Lebanese Maronite descent. McAuliffe was a great niece of Lebanese - American historian Philip Khuri Hitti. She was known by her middle name from an early age, although in later years she signed her name `` S. Christa Corrigan '', and eventually `` S. Christa McAuliffe ''. The year she was born, her father was completing his sophomore year at Boston College. Not long thereafter, he took a job as an assistant comptroller in a Boston department store, and they moved to Framingham, Massachusetts, where she attended and graduated from Marian High School in 1966. As a youth, she was inspired by Project Mercury and the Apollo moon landing program. The day after John Glenn orbited the Earth in Friendship 7, she told a friend at Marian High, `` Do you realize that someday people will be going to the Moon ? Maybe even taking a bus, and I want to do that ! '' She wrote years later on her NASA application form : `` I watched the Space Age being born, and I would like to participate. '' In 1970, she married her longtime boyfriend whom she had known since high school, Steven J. McAuliffe, a 1970 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, and they moved closer to Washington, D.C., so that he could attend the Georgetown University Law Center. They had two children, Scott and Caroline, who were nine and six, respectively, when she died. McAuliffe was a teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire. She obtained her first teaching position in 1970, as an American history teacher at Benjamin Foulois Junior High School in Morningside, Maryland. From 1971 to 1978, she taught history and civics at Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham, Maryland. In addition to teaching, she completed a Master of Arts in education supervision and administration from Bowie State University in Maryland. In 1978, she moved to Concord, New Hampshire, when Steven accepted a job as an assistant to the New Hampshire Attorney General. McAuliffe taught 7th and 8th grade American history and English in Concord, New Hampshire, and 9th grade English in Bow, New Hampshire, before taking a teaching post at Concord High School in 1983. She was a social studies teacher, and taught several courses including American history, law, and economics, in addition to a self - designed course : `` The American Woman ''. Taking field trips and bringing in speakers were an important part of her teaching techniques. According to The New York Times, she `` emphasized the impact of ordinary people on history, saying they were as important to the historical record as kings, politicians or generals. '' Teacher in Space Project In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced the Teacher in Space Project, and McAuliffe learned about NASA 's efforts to find their first civilian, an educator, to fly into space. NASA wanted to find an `` ordinary person, '' a gifted teacher who could communicate with students while in orbit. McAuliffe became one of more than 11,000 applicants. McAuliffe undergoing pre-flight training experiences weightlessness during a KC - 135 `` vomit comet '' flight `` I can not join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies. '' -- Christa McAuliffe, 1985 NASA hoped that sending a teacher into space would increase public interest in the Space Shuttle program, and also demonstrate the reliability of space flight at a time when the agency was under continuous pressure to find financial support. President Reagan said it would also remind Americans of the important role that teachers and education serve in their country. The Council of Chief State School Officers, a non-profit organization of public officials in education, was chosen by NASA to coordinate the selection process. Out of the initial applicant pool, 114 semi-finalists were nominated by state, territorial, and agency review panels. McAuliffe was one of two teachers nominated by the state of New Hampshire. The semi-finalists gathered in Washington, DC, from June 22 -- 27, 1985, for a conference on space education and to meet with the Review Panel that would select the 10 finalists. On July 1, 1985, she was announced as one of the 10 finalists, and on July 7 she traveled to Johnson Space Center for a week of thorough medical examinations and briefings about space flight. The finalists were interviewed by an evaluation committee composed of senior NASA officials, and the committee made recommendations to NASA Administrator James M. Beggs for the primary and backup candidates for the Teacher in Space Project. On July 19, 1985, Vice President George H.W. Bush announced that she had been selected for the position. Another teacher, Barbara Morgan, served as her backup. According to Mark Travis of the Concord Monitor, it was her manner that set her apart from the other candidates. NASA official Alan Ladwig said `` she had an infectious enthusiasm '', and NASA psychiatrist Terrence McGuire told New Woman magazine that `` she was the most broad - based, best - balanced person of the 10. '' Later that year, she and Morgan each took a year - long leave of absence from teaching in order to train for a space shuttle mission in early 1986. ( NASA paid both their salaries. ) While not a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps, McAuliffe was to be part of the STS - 51 - L crew, and would conduct experiments and teach lessons from space. Her planned duties included basic science experiments in the fields of chromatography, hydroponics, magnetism, and Newton 's laws. She was also planning to conduct two 15 - minute classes from space, including a tour of the spacecraft, called `` The Ultimate Field Trip '', and a lesson about the benefits of space travel, called `` Where We 've Been, Where We 're Going, Why. '' The lessons were to be broadcast to millions of schoolchildren via closed - circuit TV. To record her thoughts, McAuliffe intended to keep a personal journal like a `` woman on the Conestoga wagons pioneering the West. '' After being chosen to be the first teacher in space, she was a guest on several television programs, including Good Morning America ; the CBS Morning News ; the Today Show ; and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where, when asked about the mission, she stated, `` If you 're offered a seat on a rocket ship, do n't ask what seat. Just get on. '' She had an immediate rapport with the media, and the Teacher in Space Project received popular attention as a result. Disaster and aftermath Main article : Space Shuttle Challenger disaster McAuliffe and Barbara Morgan On January 28, 1986, McAuliffe boarded Challenger with the other six crew members of STS - 51 - L. Just 73 seconds into its flight at an altitude of 48,000 feet, the shuttle broke apart, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members. According to NASA, it was in part because of the excitement over her presence on the shuttle that the accident had such a significant effect on the nation. Many schoolchildren were viewing the launch live, and media coverage of the accident was extensive. The Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident -- also known as the Rogers Commission -- was formed 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 probable the O - rings had not provided a proper seal. Barbara Morgan, her backup, became a professional astronaut in January 1998, and flew on Space Shuttle mission STS - 118, to the International Space Station, on August 8, 2007, aboard Endeavour, the orbiter that replaced Challenger. Legacy The McAuliffe Exhibit in the Henry Whittemore Library at Framingham State University McAuliffe was buried at Blossom Hill Cemetery in her hometown, Concord. She has since been honored at many events, including the Daytona 500 NASCAR race in 1986. The McAuliffe - Shepard Discovery Center in Concord and the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence at Framingham State University are named in her memory, as are the asteroid 3352 McAuliffe, the crater McAuliffe on the Moon, and a crater on the planet Venus, which was named McAuliffe by the Soviet Union. Approximately 40 schools around the world have been named after her, including the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The McAuliffe - Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire Scholarships and other events have also been established in her memory. The Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference has been held in Nashua, New Hampshire, every year since 1986, and is devoted to the use of technology in all aspects of education. The Nebraska McAuliffe Prize honors a Nebraska teacher each year for courage and excellence in education. Grants in her name, honoring innovative teachers, are provided by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Council for the Social Studies. In 1990, she was portrayed by Karen Allen in the TV movie Challenger. The spaceship on the 1996 -- 1997 children 's science - fiction series Space Cases, about a group of students lost in space, was called `` Christa ''. In 2006, a documentary film about her and Morgan called Christa McAuliffe : Reach for the Stars aired on CNN in the CNN Presents format. The film, produced by Renee Sotile and Mary Jo Godges, commemorated the 20th anniversary of her death. It was narrated by Susan Sarandon, and included an original song by Carly Simon. McAuliffe 's grave in Concord, New Hampshire Her parents worked with Framingham State College to establish the McAuliffe Center. Her husband Steven J. McAuliffe remarried and in 1992 became a federal judge, serving with the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire in Concord. Her son, Scott, completed graduate studies in marine biology, and her daughter, Caroline, went on to pursue the same career as her mother : teaching. On July 23, 2004, she and all the other 13 astronauts lost in both the Challenger and Columbia disasters were posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush. On January 28, 2016, Space Shuttle Challenger was honored once again, but in a uniquely memorable way. Dozens of teachers who competed alongside the fallen Christa McAuliffe traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida to remember those lost on that day 30 years ago. Christa McAuliffe 's son Scott and her widower, Steven, also participated in the ceremony. After remarking on the fact that 30 years had indeed passed, Steven said `` Challenger will always be an event that occurred just recently. Our thoughts and memories of Christa will always be fresh and comforting. '' In 2017, McAuliffe was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Notes Jump up ^ `` Astronaut Biographies : Space Flight Participant ''. NASA / Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. December 5, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2009. Jump up ^ Hohler, Robert T. ( 1986 ). `` I Touch the Future... '' The Story of Christa McAuliffe. New York, NY : Random House. ISBN 0 - 394 - 55721 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Teachers in Space : A Chronology ''. Education Week. January 28, 1998. pp. Vol. 17, Issue 20, p. 12. Retrieved January 9, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Corrigan 2000, p. 21 ^ Jump up to : `` The Crew of the Challenger Shuttle Mission in 1986 ''. NASA. October 22, 2004. Retrieved January 9, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Edward C. Corrigan, Astronaut 's Father, 67 ''. The New York Times. January 28, 1990. Retrieved January 10, 2009. Jump up ^ Corrigan 2000, p. 156 Jump up ^ `` 20 Years Later... Remembering Lebanese American Astronaut Christa McAuliffe '' ( PDF ). Lebanese Monthly Magazine. February 2006. p. 18, Volume 1, Issue 2. Retrieved January 12, 2009. Jump up ^ Burgess & Corrigan 2000, pp. 6 -- 7 ^ Jump up to : Corrigan 2000, p. 40 Jump up ^ Burgess & Corrigan 2000, p. 10 Jump up ^ Burgess & Corrigan 2000, pp. 9 -- 10 Jump up ^ Corrigan 2000, p. 123 ^ Jump up to : Staff writer ( January 28, 1986 ). `` McAuliffe : Teacher on ' Ultimate Field Trip ' ''. The Washington Post. p. A10. Retrieved January 13, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Christa McAuliffe 1948 -- 1986 ''. Framingham State College - Henry Whittemore Library. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2009. Jump up ^ Application for NASA Teacher in Space Program : Sharon Christa McAuliffe can be found in the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Special Collections at Whittemore Library at Framingham State University `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013. Jump up ^ Burgess & Corrigan 2000, pp. 15 -- 16 Jump up ^ `` The Shuttle Explosion, The Seven Who Perished in The Explosion of The Challenger ''. The New York Times. January 29, 1986. Retrieved January 13, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` The Challenger Story : Teacher in Space ''. Challenger Center for Space Science Education. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2009. Jump up ^ Ware, Susan ; Stacy Lorraine Braukman, eds. ( 2004 ). Notable American Women. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press. p. 425. ISBN 0 - 674 - 01488 - X. Jump up ^ `` On anniversary, some reflect on lessons learned ''. MSNBC. Associated Press. January 28, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2009. Jump up ^ Vaughan, Diane ( 1996 ). The Challenger launch decision : risky technology, culture, and deviance at NASA. Chicago, IL : University of Chicago Press. p. 16. ISBN 0 - 226 - 85176 - 1. Jump up ^ `` Chapter VIII : Pressures on the System ''. Report of the PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. NASA. June 6, 1986. Retrieved March 19, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Remarks at a Ceremony Honoring the 1983 -- 1984 Winners in the Secondary School Recognition Program ''. The American Presidency Project. August 27, 1984. Retrieved March 19, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS - 51L Press Kit '' ( PDF ). NASA. January 1986. pp. 22 -- 25. Retrieved March 16, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Travis, Mark ( January 26, 2006 ). `` An inspired choice for an extraordinary role ''. Concord Monitor. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Remarks of the Vice President Announcing the Winner of the Teacher in Space Project ''. The American Presidency Project. July 19, 1985. Retrieved March 16, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Barbara Radding Morgan - NASA Astronaut biography ''. NASA. 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Christa 's Lost Lessons ''. Space Educators ' Handbook -- OMB / NASA Report # S677 / Challenger Center for Space Science Education. Retrieved February 13, 2016. Jump up ^ Magnuson, Ed ( June 24, 2001 ). `` They Slipped the Surly Bonds of Earth to Touch ''. Time. Retrieved January 9, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Teacher embraced historic chance ''. Telegraph Herald. United Press International. January 28, 1986. p. 13. Jump up ^ Belman, Felice ; Mike Pride ( 2001 ). The New Hampshire Century : Concord Monitor Profiles of One Hundred People Who Shaped It. Hanover, NH : University Press of New England. p. 4. ISBN 1 - 58465 - 087 - 7. Jump up ^ Kerwin, Joseph P. ( 1986 ). `` Challenger crew cause and time of death ''. NASA. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2010. Jump up ^ Wright, John C. ; Dale Kunkel ; Marites Pinon ; Aletha C. Huston ( Spring 1989 ). `` How Children Reacted to Televised Coverage of the Space Shuttle Disaster ''. Journal of Communication. 39 ( 2 ) : 27. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1460 - 2466.1989. tb01027. x. ^ Jump up to : `` Chapter IV : The Cause of the Accident ''. Report of the PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. NASA. June 6, 1986. Retrieved May 15, 2009. Jump up ^ `` NASA Orbiter Fleet - Space Shuttle Overview : Endeavour ( OV - 105 ) ''. NASA / Kennedy Space Center. Retrieved March 7, 2009. Jump up ^ Hohler, Bob ( January 21, 1996 ). `` McAuliffe 's legacy ' keeps us reaching for the stars ' ''. Boston Globe. Jump up ^ `` Elliott has competition in Daytona 500 ''. Philadelphia Daily News. February 15, 1986. p. 35, Sports. Jump up ^ Tirrell - Wysocki, David ( March 31, 2009 ). `` McAuliffe - Shepard Discovery Center honors New Hampshire astronauts ''. The Dallas Morning News. Associated Press. Retrieved May 16, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Centers & Institutes ''. Framingham State College. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010. Jump up ^ `` NASA to put probe to the test : New technologies to be tried in flight ''. The Washington Times. September 14, 1997. Jump up ^ Burgess & Corrigan 2000, p. 103 Jump up ^ McAuliffe crater, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Jump up ^ `` The Magellan Venus Explorer 's Guide : Chapter 8 What 's in a Name ? ''. NASA JPL Publication 90 - 24. August 1990. Retrieved January 9, 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Then & Now : Grace Corrigan ''. CNN. August 15, 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2009. Jump up ^ Kapos, Katherine ( December 2, 1990 ). `` School Launches Jaunts to Outer Space ''. The Salt Lake Tribune. p. B3. Jump up ^ `` 22nd Annual Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference ''. New Hampshire School Administrators Association. 2008. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Do You Know a Courageous Teacher ? ''. University of Nebraska - Lincoln : College of Education and Human Sciences. 2008. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Christa McAuliffe Award ''. American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Retrieved January 23, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award ''. National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved January 13, 2009. Jump up ^ Saunders, Dusty ( February 25, 1990 ). `` ' CHALLENGER ' Playing McAuliffe Provided Karen Allen with the Greatest Challenge of her Career ''. Rocky Mountain News. Jump up ^ Grahnke, Lon ( February 29, 1996 ). `` 2 New Series Fire Up Sci - Fi Shows Aim a Light Touch at Kids ''. Chicago Sun - Times. p. 37. Jump up ^ `` CNN Presents : CHRISTA MCAULIFFE REACH FOR THE STARS ''. CNN. Archived from the original on September 19, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Christa McAuliffe : Reach for the Stars ''. Christa McAuliffe : Reach for the Stars Official Website. Retrieved September 28, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Their families today ''. Houston Chronicle. 1996. Retrieved January 10, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Congressional Space Medal of Honor ''. NASA History Division. Retrieved January 9, 2009. Jump up ^ https://apnews.com/dd026bb4c6f5414282f2eea4a71057e4/30-years-challenger-new-voice-astronauts-memorial Jump up ^ Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. These We Honor : The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978 - 1 - 57864 - 397 - 4. References Burgess, Colin ; Corrigan, Grace George ( 2000 ). Teacher in space : Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger legacy. Lincoln, NE : University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0 - 8032 - 6182 - 9... Corrigan, Grace George ( 2000 ). A Journal for Christa : Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space. Lincoln, NE : University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0 - 8032 - 6411 - 9... Hohler, Robert T. ( 1986 ). `` I Touch the Future... '' The Story of Christa McAuliffe. New York, NY : Random House. ISBN 0 - 394 - 55721 - 2... Further reading Washington Post Staff ( 1986 ). Challengers : The Inspiring Life Stories of the Seven Brave Astronauts of Shuttle Mission 51 - L. New York : Pocket Books. ISBN 0 - 671 - 62897 - 6... External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christa McAuliffe. Wikiquote has quotations related to : Christa McAuliffe Official NASA biography Christa 's Lost Lessons The Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Collection at the Henry Whittemore Library in Framingham State College Christa McAuliffe on IMDb Works by or about Christa McAuliffe in libraries ( WorldCat catalog ) Christa McAuliffe Planetarium Christa McAuliffe at Find a Grave Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence STS - 51 - L Space Shuttle Challenger disaster Main articles Space Shuttle Challenger STS - 51 - L Mission timeline Crew Scobee ( Cmdr ) Smith Resnik Onizuka McNair Jarvis McAuliffe See also Rogers Commission Report Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster TDRS - B Challenger flag Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor Michael P. Anderson Neil Armstrong Frank Borman David M. Brown Roger B. Chaffee Kalpana Chawla Laurel Clark Charles `` Pete '' Conrad Robert Crippen John Glenn Virgil `` Gus '' Grissom Rick Husband Gregory Jarvis Jim Lovell Shannon Lucid Christa McAuliffe William C. McCool Ronald McNair Ellison Onizuka Ilan Ramon Judith Resnik Dick Scobee Alan Shepard William Shepherd Michael J. Smith Thomas P. Stafford Ed White John Young Italics indicate the award was bestowed posthumously GND : 119208598 ISNI : 0000 0000 3629 1621 LCCN : n85305609 NARA : 10569739 SNAC : w6jr740p VIAF : 57419728 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christa_McAuliffe&oldid=854553263 '' Categories : Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor 1948 births 1986 deaths American astronauts Women astronauts Educator astronauts People from Framingham, Massachusetts People from Concord, New Hampshire American people of Lebanese descent Framingham State University alumni Bowie State University alumni American schoolteachers Accidental deaths in Florida Space Shuttle Challenger disaster People from Lanham, Maryland American people of Irish descent NASA civilian astronauts Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from December 2016 Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NARA identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Use American English from January 2014 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Asturianu Беларуская Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 हिन्दी Italiano עברית Latviešu Magyar Malagasy Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Plattdüütsch Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe 24 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 August 2018, at 05 : 33 ( UTC ). 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Question: who was the teacher who died on the challenger
Answer: Sharon Christa McAuliffe