Teacher, born in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. Community-minded and socially conscious, she started teaching in 1970. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials were impressed with a course she developed for Concord High School (New Hampshire) entitled The American Woman. The first teacher selected for the NASA Teacher in Space programme, she died along with the crew when their space shuttle Challenger blew up not long after launching.
Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe|
|
|
| Astronaut | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
September 2, 1948 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died |
January 28, 1986 Cape Canaveral, Florida |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Selection | Teacher in Space Project |
| Mission(s) | STS-51-L |
| Mission insignia | |
| previous or current | |
Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe (September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986), better known simply as Christa McAuliffe, and prior to her marriage, Christa Corrigan, was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire who was selected from among more than 11,000 applicants to be the first teacher in space.
Early life
Born Sharon Christa Corrigan on September 2, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts McAuliffe was the oldest of five children of Edward (deceased) and Grace Corrigan.
Career as an educator
McAuliffe attended Framingham State College in her hometown, graduating in 1970.
McAuliffe took a job teaching in the secondary schools, specializing in American history, social studies, law, economics, and a self-designed course: "The American Woman".
Member of the Teacher in Space Program
NASA selected McAuliffe for this position on July 19, 1985 (another teacher, Barbara Morgan, served as her backup). After being chosen to be the first teacher in space, McAuliffe was interviewed by many TV personalities, including the likes of Larry King, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Regis Philbin.
Barbara Morgan became an astronaut in January 1998, about 12 years after McAuliffe's death. NASA would hopefully launch STS-118 to the International Space Station in 2007, approximately 21 1/2 years after Challenger, and would have astronaut Morgan teach the same lesson that would have been taught by McAuliffe.
Just three days before the fourth anniversary of McAuliffe's death, her father, Edward Corrigan, also died. I have no allegiance to NASA."
His wife, Grace is still talking to schoolchildren about McAuliffe.
It was revealed in a recent documentary (see below) that after Christa's death, her parents did not celebrate holidays (Easter, Halloween, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, etc.) for five years, because to them, "it just didn't feel right when someone we loved isn't there".
The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord, New Hampshire and the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove, Utah are named in her memory, as are asteroid 3352 McAuliffe and the McAuliffe crater on the Moon.
A residence hall located on the campus of her Almer Mater, Bowie State University, is named after McAuliffe: The Christa McAuliffe Residential Complex.
Surviving family
After her death, McAuliffe was survived by:
Her father, Edward Corrigan (now also deceased) Her mother, Grace Corrigan Her brother, Christopher "Kit" Corrigan Her brother, Stephen Corrigan Her sister, Lisa Bristol Her sister, Betsy Corrigan Her husband, Steven McAuliffe (now remarried) Her son, Scott McAuliffe (now married) Her daughter, Caroline McAuliffeSchools
In the years after the tragedy, numerous schools were named after her, in cities including:
| Bakersfield, California Los Alamitos, California Oceanside, California Oxnard, California Riverside, California Saratoga, California Greeley, Colorado Palm Bay, Florida Boynton Beach, Florida Tinley Park, Illinois Evansville, Indiana Lenexa, Kansas Baton Rouge, Louisiana Bangor, Maine Germantown, Maryland Lowell, Massachusetts Hastings, Minnesota | Elizabeth, New Jersey Jackson, New Jersey Jersey City, New Jersey Brooklyn, New York New York City (Jackson Heights, Queens) Tulsa, Oklahoma Altoona, Pennsylvania Highland Village, Texas Houston, Texas Richardson, Texas San Antonio, Texas Dale City, Virginia Sammamish, Washington Yakima, Washington |
Movie
McAuliffe was portrayed by Karen Allen in the 1990 TV movie Challenger.
Cartoons
There were many cartoons that honored McAuliffe.
Documentary film
A recent documentary film, made by two friends, was just recently shown on CNN, called Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars .
Play
The play "Defying Gravity" by Emmy Award-winning writer Jane Anderson tells the story of the 5-year-old daughter of teacher-turned-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, and the anguish she was forced to bear while the nation watched as her mother's space shuttle exploded.The play combines a montage of characters, including McAuliffe, known only as Teacher, and her daughter Elizabeth, who narrates by transforming back and forth from a confused and hurt little girl to a 25-year-old woman trying to find understanding in the skewed memories of her childhood. A Journal for Christa: Christa McAuliffe, Teacher in Space.
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