She had a foot-thick training manual to slog through, as well as vision, treadmill and other tests to complete. She occasionally had students dress in period costumes. CONCORD, N.H. --Thirty years after the Concord High School class of '86 watched social studies teacher Christa McAuliffe and six astronauts perish when the space shuttle Challenger exploded on . The Space Shuttle Challenger was hurtling through the air at twice the speed of sound when pilot Michael Smith noticed something alarming. McAuliffe, 37, was a Concord, NH, social studies teacher who had won NASA's Teacher in Space contest and earned a spot on the Jan. 28, 1986, mission as a payload specialist. Grace Corrigan . What would they do then? She also planned to keep a video record of her activities. McAuliffe was a high school teacher from New Hampshire. Maybe even taking a bus, and I want to do that! After her death, several schools were named in her honor, and she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004. The remains of Challenger astronaut Christa McAuliffe were - UPI Christa McAuliffe's Messenger. Biography: You Need to Know: Joseph M. Acaba. Her life was precious, and everybody's life is precious.". Investigators later determined that a part had malfunctioned due to the unusually cold January weather and caused a failure in one of the rocket boosters at liftoff. Christa Corrigan McAuliffe | American educator | Britannica The women can remember McAuliffe running to the post office after school to mail her application for the NASA Teacher in Space Project that had been created by the Reagan administration. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Smith apparently tried to restore power to the shuttle, toggling switches on his control panel. Her son, Scott, completed graduate studies in marine biology, and her daughter, Caroline, went on to pursue the same career as her mother: teaching. Born on Sept. 2, 1948, Sharon Christa McAuliffe was a social studies teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire when she was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to participate in the . That fall, while attending a Washington, DC, teachers conference, McAuliffe stumbled upon a booth promoting the Teacher in Space program. McAuliffe won the contest, beating out more than 11,000 other applicants. [22][23][24] President Reagan said it would also remind Americans of the important role that teachers and education serve in their country. It was the first indication that any of the seven astronauts killed may have been aware of the January 28 disaster, the worst in the history of space exploration.