Remembering Christa McAuliffe: The Dedicated Teacher Who Tragically Perished In The Challenger Space Launch
In 1984, NASA announced a groundbreaking new initiative that aimed to send an American educator to space. It was known as the “Teacher In Space Project” and garnered over eleven thousand applications from instructors throughout the country.
But, just one emerged as the winner– Christa McAuliffe of Massachusetts. Tragically, though, her dream of spaceflight ended in catastrophe.
Christa McAuliffe’s Love Of Space
The teacher was born in suburban Massachusetts in 1948, and by 1970, everything was coming together for Christa.
She launched her teaching career at twenty-two years old. And that same year, she got married to her husband, Steve. The pair also went on to welcome two children into the world together, Caroline and Scott.
And throughout Christa’s entire life, she had always been fascinated by space travel. She grew up in the Space Age and watched discovery after discovery about our cosmos unfold in real-time.
So, once President Ronald Reagan revealed the Teacher In Space Project in 1984, Christa was over the moon.
The project was launched as an incentive that NASA hoped would raise public interest in the Space Shuttle Program. In turn, the administration hoped the government would provide them with more funding.
NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; pictured above is Christa
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And Christa was totally on board. She rushed to the post office on the last day of the deadline and sent off her application. Then, she patiently waited.
According to the Associated Press, Christa recalled her wonder of watching the first satellite launch and shared her hopes to take part in the next era of space exploration.
“I was caught up with their wonder. I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but I watched the Space Age being born, and I would like to participate,” Christa wrote in her application.
She also went on to detail how her own launch would be turned into an immersive learning experience for her students.
In fact, Christa intended to record two live video lessons while inside the space shuttle that would be transmitted and broadcast on television around the country.
This innovative plan blew the judges away, and she was ultimately selected as a finalist for the project. Then, during her last interview for the spot, Christa sealed the deal with her closing statement.
“I have always been concerned that ordinary people have not been given their place in history. I would like to humanize the Space Age by giving the perspective of a non-astronaut,” she began.
“Space is the future. As teachers, we prepare the students for the future. We have to include it– space is for everyone.”
Christa Was Named The First Private Citizen Passenger In The History Of Space Flight
The following year, in July of 1985, Vice President George H.W. Bush formally announced Christa as the selected educator for the Teacher In Space Project. She described herself as being “at a loss for words” in her acceptance speech.
But then, Christa quickly gathered herself and launched into an intense training period just weeks later.
She spent a total of one hundred and twenty days at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, undergoing astronaut training. There, Christa took flights that simulated the zero-gravity she would encounter while in the space station and learned the cockpit’s operation controls.
And by the end of her training, she was even awarded the title of “Payload Specialist” by NASA.
Taking Off For Space Flight
Christa’s space shuttle was initially supposed to launch on January 22, 1986. However, numerous unforeseen weather events and technical issues delayed the mission multiple times.
So, nearly a week later, Christa and the rest of her crew climbed aboard the shuttle on January 28, 1986, and finally prepared for launch.
And even though Christa only got to see her family on holidays throughout the entire four-month training period leading up to this milestone, she still held them close in her heart. She brought along her daughter’s necklace, her son’s stuffed frog, and her husband’s class ring.
Moreover, her husband and two children were also stationed on the roof of the Launch Control Center to witness the momentous mission in person.
Tons of Christa’s students also traveled to cheer on their teacher and watch the launch in person; meanwhile, the rest of her students congregated in their school cafeteria to tune in on television.
Tragedy Strikes
The Space Shuttle Christa boarded, known as the Challenger, took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at about 11:38 a.m. But, only seventy-three seconds later, there was a disastrous failure.
While Christa’s family and students, near and far, were cheering her on, the Challenger unexpectedly exploded and crumbled to pieces. And tragically, Christa– along with her other six crew members– were sent speeding toward the ocean almost fifty thousand feet below.
According to one of Christa’s students, Holly Merrow, the teacher’s colleagues immediately knew the damage would be catastrophic.
“I looked at a friend sitting next to me, and I said, ‘I think that’s supposed to happen.’ Then, I looked at my chemistry teacher that was there, and she was just crying and bawling,” Holly recalled.
All seven crew members, including Christa, perished in the Challenger explosion. And in the weeks following the disaster, NASA salvage crews sifted through shuttle fragments and recovered the crew members’ remains.
Christa’s body was eventually transported back to her family in Concord, New Hampshire, and her family conducted a private burial.
What Went Wrong?
The Challenger disaster immediately prompted nationwide grief, and an investigation into the cause of the explosion was launched.
It was later determined that the state of Florida’s uncharacteristic weather pattern had been the culprit. Florida had been experiencing more frigid temperatures than usual, and, as a result, icicles formed on the space shuttle.
The cold weather also caused an O-ring failure on the rocket booster– which ultimately led to the million tons of rocket fuel igniting.
The investigation also uncovered that the disaster could have been prevented if the launch was simply postponed again. However, it is believed that the pressure to launch for both the public and good publicity pushed NASA to undergo the mission in less than optimal conditions.
Christa’s Legacy
Following the Challenger explosion, NASA did not send any more astronauts into space for two years. The Teacher In Space Project was terminated, and the next civilian was not sent to space until 2007.
Christa was also posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004, and numerous schools, planetariums, and even a crater on the moon were named in her honor.
And despite Christa tragically perishing during the space launch, her dedication to teaching and her love of discovery have always been remembered. In fact, both of her children have gone on to pursue teaching careers and follow in the footsteps of their mother.
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