Christa Corrigan McAuliffe, History Teacher and Astronaut, Inspires New Generations about Space Exploration

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Christa Corrigan, photo courtesy of NASA

Boston native, history teacher and astronaut Sharon Christa Corrigan McAuliffe died on January 28, 1986,  when the shuttle Challenger she was on exploded shortly after lift-off.  

In 1985, Christa was selected from more than 11,000 applicants as the first teacher to participate in a space mission. The world watched in excitement that day as McAuliffe and her fellow astronauts lifted off at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But that excitement turned to horror and grief as the spacecraft exploded seconds later. Read NASA's account of the disaster. 

Born in Boston, Sharon Christa Corrigan was the eldest of five children of Grace and Edward Corrigan, who lived on Strandville Road in Dorchester, near Columbia Point. Her family moved to Framingham where she grew up and married her high school sweetheart Steve McAuliffe. She began her career teaching high school students in Maryland and then New Hampshire.

Since her death, the nation has remembered Christa Corrigan McAuliffe in various ways, as she continues to inspire generation to learn about space exploration. 

In 1994, Framingham State College, where McAuliffe received her teaching degree, created the Christa McAuliffe Center in her honor, dedicated to teacher excellence.

In 2004, McAuliffe and the entire Challenger crew were posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the highest American award for spaceflight achievement.

To honor her memory as the first teacher selected for space, the U.S. Mint released a commemorative silver dollar coin of McAuliffe in 2021. 

Photo Courtesy of McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

On September 2, 2024, The Christa McAuliffe State House Memorial Commission unveiled a Christa McAuliffe statue at the New Hampshire State House in Concord. The dedication took place on what would have been Christa's 76th birthday, with support from the Governor's Office and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

Read more about the Irish Women of Massachusetts series initiated by the Boston Irish Tourism Association. 

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