Christa McAuliffe Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Christa McAuliffe
OCCUPATION: Educator
BIRTH DATE: September 02, 1948
DEATH DATE: January 28, 1986
EDUCATION: Framingham State College

PLACE OF BIRTH: Framingham, Massachusetts
PLACE OF DEATH: Orlando, Florida
Originally: Sharon Christa Corrigan

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Best Known For

High school teacher Christa McAuliffe was the first American civilian selected to go into space. She died in the space shuttle Challenger’s explosion in 1986.

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Christa McAuliffe

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Christa McAuliffe. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 10:16, May 25, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/christa-mcauliffe-9390406

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Christa McAuliffe [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 25]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/christa-mcauliffe-9390406.

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Christa McAuliffe, http://www.biography.com/people/christa-mcauliffe-9390406 (last visited May 25, 2012).

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Synopsis

Christa McAuliffe was born September 2, 1948, in Framingham, MA. A high school teacher, she was the first American civilian selected to go into space in 1985. After being selected by NASA in 1985, she trained at the Johnson Space Center. On January 28, 1986, she boarded the space shuttle Challenger. The space shuttle exploded shortly after liftoff, killing everyone on board.

Profile

Educator. Born Sharon Christa Corrigan on September 2, 1948, in Framingham, Massachusetts. Christa McAuliffe was the first American civilian selected to go into space in 1985. A well-regarded and beloved high school teacher in Concord, New Hampshire, she had developed a course called ??The American Woman.?? This course helped her win a competition held by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to decide who would be the first teacher in space.

After being selected in 1985, Christa McAuliffe went through extensive training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. On January 28, 1986, McAuliffe boarded the space shuttle Challenger at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Along with the rest of the crew, she waited for her field trip to space to begin. This was not to be, unfortunately. The space shuttle exploded shortly after liftoff, killing everyone on board. This tragic accident sent shockwaves around the world.

Christa McAuliffe left behind a husband and two young children. As a tribute to her memory, she received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. McAuliffe has also been honored with an asteroid and a moon crater, both bearing her name. Another tribute, the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center, was created at Framingham State College where she had graduated from in 1970.