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Cosmonaut / Astronaut · National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Christa McAuliffe

A teacher from New Hampshire, the first civilian selected for NASA's "Teacher in Space" project.
Spaceflights
Portrait of teacher Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist of the Teacher in Space programme.
Born
2 Sept 1948
Died
28 Jan 1986
Spaceflights
1

Biography

Born 2 September 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. She taught social studies at a high school in Concord, New Hampshire. In July 1985 NASA selected her from over 11,000 applicants as the first participant in the "Teacher in Space" project, under which she was to teach two lessons live from orbit to schoolchildren on Earth. STS-51-L was her only spaceflight.

Missions

Spaceflights

Official STS-51-L mission patch with the names of the seven crew members.

28 January 1986

STS-51-L

STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth mission of the Space Shuttle program. On 28 January 1986, 73 seconds after launch, the orbiter Challenger broke apart when a frost-embrittled O-ring in its right solid rocket booster failed — the entire seven-member crew died, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.

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Timeline

Career at a glance

  1. 1948Born2 September 1948
  2. 1986STS-51-L28 January 1986
  3. 1986Died28 January 1986

Crews

Flew together

Dick ScobeeCosmonaut / AstronautDick ScobeeSTS-51-LMichael J. SmithCosmonaut / AstronautMichael J. SmithSTS-51-LEllison OnizukaCosmonaut / AstronautEllison OnizukaSTS-51-LJudith ResnikCosmonaut / AstronautJudith ResnikSTS-51-LRonald McNairCosmonaut / AstronautRonald McNairSTS-51-LGregory JarvisCosmonaut / AstronautGregory JarvisSTS-51-L
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