Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from
Concord, New Hampshire, who was killed on the
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission
STS-51-L where she was serving as a
payload specialist.
She received her bachelor's degree in education and history from
Framingham State College in 1970 and her 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
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
in 1983.
In 1985, McAuliffe was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to the
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
Teacher in Space Project and was scheduled to become the first teacher to fly in space.
As a member of mission
STS-51-L, she was planning to conduct experiments and teach two lessons from ''Challenger''. On January 28, 1986,
the shuttle broke apart 1 minute 13 seconds after launch, killing all onboard. After her death, several schools were named in her honor, and she was posthumously awarded the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004.
Early life
Sharon Christa Corrigan was born on September 2, 1948, in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
as the oldest of the five children of accountant Edward Christopher Corrigan (1922–1990), who was of Irish descent;
and Grace Mary Corrigan (1924–2018; 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 after, he took a job as an assistant
comptroller in a Boston
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
, and they moved to
Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...
, where she attended and graduated from
Marian High School in 1966.
She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in 1970 from Framingham State College, now
Framingham State University. 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
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
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.
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
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...
.
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
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', 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 Christa 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.
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, D.C., 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, McAuliffe 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
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it through a system ( ...
,
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, don'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
On January 28, 1986, McAuliffe boarded
''Challenger'' with the other six crew members of STS-51-L. Seventy-three seconds into its flight at an altitude of , 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.
Barbara Morgan, her backup, became a professional astronaut in January 1998,
and flew on Space Shuttle mission
STS-118, to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...
, on August 8, 2007, aboard ''
Endeavour
Endeavour or endeavor may refer to:
People
Fictional characters
* Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter
* Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero A ...
'', the orbiter that replaced ''Challenger''.
Legacy
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, the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence at
Framingham State University, the Christa McAuliffe Intermediate School in Brooklyn, NY and the S. Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Lowell, Massachusetts, were 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
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. Approximately 40 schools around the world have been named after her, including the
Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in
Pleasant Grove, Utah.
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
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...
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
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is a U.S.-based association devoted to supporting social studies education. It is affiliated with various regional or state level social studies associations, including: the Middle States Council ...
.
She was portrayed by
Karen Allen in the 1990 TV movie ''
Challenger''. In October 2018, it was announced that
Michelle Williams was cast to portray McAuliffe in ''The Challenger'', another retelling of the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In 2019, McAuliffe was portrayed by Erika Waldorf in the
independent film ''The Challenger Disaster''. 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.
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 Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level.
United States
A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...
, 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
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
'' disasters were posthumously awarded the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor by President
George W. Bush.
On January 28, 2016, several teachers who competed alongside McAuliffe for a seat on the ''Challenger'' traveled to
Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a 30th anniversary remembrance service, along with her widower, Steven and son, Scott. After remarking that 30 years had 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.
In 2019, Congress passed the Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act which was signed into law by President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
on October 9, 2019. The bill allows the
Department of the Treasury to "issue not more than 350,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of Christa McAuliffe." The
coins were minted in 2021.
File:Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Exhibit - Henry Whittemore Library.jpg, The McAuliffe Exhibit in the Henry Whittemore Library at Framingham State University
File:Christaplanetarium1.jpg, The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, New Hampshire
File:Christa McAuliffe gravestone in Concord, NH.jpg, McAuliffe's grave in Concord, New Hampshire
Notes
References
*.
*.
*.
Further reading
*.
External links
Official NASA biographyChrista's Lost Lessons*
*
ttp://www.starhop.com/ Christa McAuliffe Planetariumbr>
Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAuliffe, Christa
1948 births
1986 deaths
20th-century American educators
American astronauts
American people of Irish descent
American people of Lebanese descent
Schoolteachers from New Hampshire
20th-century American women educators
Bowie State University alumni
Educator astronauts
Framingham State University alumni
NASA sponsored astronauts
People from Boston
People from Concord, New Hampshire
People from Framingham, Massachusetts
People from Lanham, Maryland
Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
Space Shuttle program astronauts
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster victims
Women astronauts
Spaceflight participants