Christa McAuliffe

Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher selected for NASA’s Teacher in Space Project. She died aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it broke apart shortly after launch in 1986.

Barbara Morgan: An American educator and astronaut who served as Christa McAuliffe’s backup in NASA’s Teacher in Space Project and later flew in space. McAuliffe’s backup continued the educator-in-space effort and eventually reached orbit.
NASA Teacher in Space Project: A NASA initiative begun in 1984 to send an educator into space and encourage interest in science and spaceflight. The project selected McAuliffe from thousands of applicants for a shuttle mission.
Teacher in Space: An effort to place an educator aboard a spaceflight so students could encounter space exploration through teaching. McAuliffe’s mission was NASA’s first attempt to put this idea into practice.
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster: The 1986 in-flight breakup of the space shuttle Challenger, which killed all seven crew members. The disaster ended McAuliffe’s mission and made her story part of national mourning.
Ronald Reagan: The 40th president of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. Reagan announced McAuliffe’s selection and addressed the nation after Challenger was lost.
Space Shuttle Challenger: The NASA orbiter that flew ten space shuttle missions before its destruction in 1986. Challenger was the spacecraft carrying McAuliffe on STS-51-L.
Christa's Lost Lessons: Educational activities developed from lessons McAuliffe had planned to teach during her shuttle mission. These materials carried forward the classroom work she prepared for orbit.
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster: The 2003 loss of the space shuttle Columbia during reentry, which killed all seven crew members. Columbia was a later shuttle disaster with different technical causes and circumstances.
Francis R. Scobee: An American astronaut who commanded the space shuttle Challenger’s STS-51-L mission. Scobee led the crew on the flight that carried McAuliffe.
STS-51-L: The 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger mission that ended in the orbiter’s breakup shortly after launch. This was McAuliffe’s assigned flight and the mission on which she died.

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