Historical Figure
Christa McAuliffe
d. 1986
American teacher and astronaut (1948–1986)
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Biography
Sharon Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire, who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payload specialist.
In Their Own Words (5)
No teacher has ever been better prepared to teach a lesson.
As quoted in American Heroes of Exploration and Flight (1996) by Anne E. Schraff, p. 102 , 1996
Reach for it, you know. Go push yourself as far as you can.
Transcript - CNN Presents: CHRISTA MCAULIFFE REACH FOR THE STARS (22 January 2006 , 2006
What are we doing here? We're reaching for the stars.
"Christa McAuliffe 1948–1986" in TIME magazine (10 February 1986) (archived by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine) , 1948
I have a vision of the world as a global village, a world without boundaries. Imagine a history teacher making history!
Christa McAuliffe 1948–1986 Framingham State College - Henry Whittemore Library , 1948
May your future be limited only by your dreams!
As quoted in "New Hampshire Town Reeling From Shock, Grief" by Bob Drogin in Los Angeles Times (30 January 1986) , 1986
Timeline
The story of Christa McAuliffe, told in moments.
Born Sharon Christa Corrigan in Boston. Her father was an accountant, her mother a substitute teacher. She went by her middle name from childhood.
Earned a degree in education and history from Framingham State College. She became a social studies teacher and eventually taught at Concord High School in New Hampshire.
Selected from 11,000 applicants for NASA's Teacher in Space Project. She planned to teach two lessons from orbit and conduct experiments on Challenger.
Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch. All seven crew members died. Millions of schoolchildren watched live on television. She was 37.
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