Today's Hours:
By Keila Santa '25
If you’ve been around campus, you’ve probably walked past the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center located behind O’Connor Hall, but do you know the story behind the woman who it’s named after? Today, in the spirit of Women’s History Month, we will be telling the tragic and inspiring story of astronaut, educator, and FSU alumna, Christa McAuliffe.
Sharon Christa McAuliffe was born September 2, 1948 in Boston, MA. She grew up in Framingham, and in 1970, got her BA in education here at Framingham State University (formerly known as Framingham State College). McAuliffe then went on to marry her high school sweetheart, Steve McAuliffe, and began her teaching career as a substitute teacher at Benjamin Foulois Junior High School. Within that same year, she accepted her first full-time position at Thomas Johnson High in Lanham, Maryland, teaching American history, civics, and English. It was during her time in Maryland that McAuliffe also became mother to her first child, Scott, in 1976. Two years later, McAuliffe received her Master’s in education supervision and administration from Bowie State College (Christa McAufliffe).
After acquiring her Master’s, Christa and her husband soon relocated to Concord, New Hampshire, where her reputation as an educator really began to grow. This is also where she had her second child, Caroline. In 1982, she accepted another teaching position, this time for American history, law, and economics at Concord High School. Here, she designed the curriculum for the course “The American Woman”, which explored the history of the United States from a female perspective and sought to highlight the contributions of women in society. Much of the course material relied on the primary journals and letters of the women who she spoke about, and she often brought her classes on field trips to expose her students to real-life applications of the curriculum (Christa McAuliffe).
On August 27, 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced the Teacher in Space Project in an effort to have an educator be the first citizen to go to space. In a decision that would change her life forever, 36-year old Christa McAuliffe submitted her application on the last day they could be accepted, making her one of 11,000 applicants. McAuliffe saw the opportunity as a way to promote her profession and advocate for teachers across the nation (Little).
Christa proposed a project which included a three-part journal meant to capture every detail of her experiences on this journey—the first part focused on training, the second on the flight, and the third on the aftermath. After being one of the 114 semifinalists to be interviewed in Washington D.C., McAuliffe then made it to being in the final ten. In July 1985, she traveled to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and participated in a series of physical and psychological tests for the program. Finally, on July 19, 1985, Vice President George Bush announced her selection as the first teacher to go to space (Christa McAuliffe).
McAuliffe’s training for space mission STS-51-L officially began in September 1985, occupying the remainder of that year as the Challenger shuttle was scheduled to launch on January 22, 1986. However, the launch was initially delayed because of a dust storm in the Sahara Desert, and then was delayed two more times in the next few days. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger was finally ready to take off (Christa McAuliffe).
Students in schools across the country gathered around TV’s to watch the extraordinary event (Little). Christa McAuliffe was not only the first educator in space, but also the first private citizen of any profession to take part in a NASA flight. She planned on recording virtual lessons for her students from the shuttle, calling it the “The Ultimate Field Trip” (Munsey). However, as students and teachers gathered to watch history unfold, excitement quickly turned to alarm: just 73 seconds into its flight, the Challenger shuttle suffered a leak in one of the solid rock boosters, resulting in the explosion of the vehicle. Christa Corrigan McAuliffe, along with her six other crew members, died in the crash (Christa McAuliffe).
Teachers and students were devastated, and NASA officials eventually faced a damning investigation as people searched for answers after this terrible accident. Unfortunately, it was later revealed that there were known safety concerns about the shuttle’s rocket boosters which decision makers at NASA and Morton Thiokol, the company that built the boosters, had ignored (Little); Engineers warned of how the O-rings on the boosters reacted to cold temperatures, and yet, the shuttle was approved to launch on a day when temperatures were at a record low—making it the coldest launch NASA had ever attempted (Christa McAulife).
Despite her tragic ending, Christa McAuliffe’s legacy lives on as she is remembered for her dedication to her students and teaching. She was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004, almost 20 years after her death, and since then a variety of schools and memorials have been made in her name. Some of these establishments include the McAuliffe/Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, the Christa McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham, and of course, the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center here at Framingham State (Munsey). Women’s History Month is a time to commemorate amazing women like Christa McAuliffe whose lives were cut short, but whose impact on society transcends. After all, there is no story more inspiring than one ignited by the power of dreaming big.
"You have to dream. We all have to dream. Dreaming is okay. Imagine me teaching from space, all over the world, touching so many people's lives. That's a teacher's dream! I have a vision of the world as a global village, a world without boundaries. Imagine a history teacher making history!" -Christa McAuliffe
References:
“Christa McAuliffe .” McAuliffe Center, Framingham State University, cm-center.org/christa-mcauliffe. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
Little, Becky. “Christa McAuliffe: How NASA’s Teacher in Space Project Ended in Tragedy.” History, A&E Television Networks, 9 Apr. 2024, www.history.com/news/christa-mcauliffe-challenger-teacher-space.
Munsey, Anna-Kate. “Celebrating Women’s History Month: Christa McAuliffe.” New Hampshire Magazine, New Hampshire Magazine, 3 Mar. 2021, www.nhmagazine.com/celebrating-womens-history-month-christa-mcauliffe/.
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