Top 12 Most Famous Christa McAuliffe Quotes – A Tribute to the Space Shuttle Challenger Crew
“I can remember in early elementary school when the Russians launched the first satellite. There was still so much unknown about space. People thought Mars was probably populated.”
Christa McAuliffe
“I was a little concerned with how the crew was going to view me because I didn’t know whether this program had been kinda forced down their throats. But they were wonderful.”
Christa McAuliffe
“NASA was going to pick a public school teacher to go into space, observe and make a journal about the space flight, and I am a teacher who always dreamed of going up into space.”
Christa McAuliffe
“I told them how excited I would be to go into space and how thrilled I was when Alan Shepard made his historic flight, and when John Kennedy announced on the news that the men had landed safely on the moon, and how jealous I was of those men.”
Christa McAuliffe
“I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies.”
Christa McAuliffe
Christa McAuliffe Short Biography
Born 2 September 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Sharon Christa McAuliffe was an American High School teacher who was chosen to be the first American civilian in space.
As a child, McAuliffe was inspired by the Apollo moon landing project. She had written, “I watched the Space Age being born, and I would like to participate” in her NASA application form. (Source)
In 1970 she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American history and education. After having completed a master’s degree in education in 1978, McAuliffe started a teaching job.
In 1984 the Teacher in Space Project was announced. The NASA-led project would entail sending the first civilian into space. Upon hearing about the program; McAuliffe applied and became one of 11, 000 applicants.
Vice President George H. W. Bush had announced that Christa McAuliffe would be the “first private citizen passenger in the history of space flight” on July 19, 1985. (Source)
NASA official Alan Ladwig had said that it was McAuliffe’s infectious enthusiasm that was an attribute as to why she was chosen out of the group of finalists.
On January 28, 1986, McAuliffe and six other crew members were launched into space aboard the Challenger. Seventy-three seconds into the flight the shuttle came apart, killing all seven passengers.
Even after her death, Christa McAuliffe is still remembered fondly by the public. Many scholarships were established in her memory, and in 2004 she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Further Reading:
- Christa McAuliffe’s Lost Lessons – challenger.org
- A Teacher Trains for Outer Space – The New Yorker
- What It Was Like to Witness the Challenger Disaster – The Washington Post
Here are the best Christa McAuliffe quotes so you can take charge of your life and be motivated to accomplish the ‘impossible.’
(MUST READ)
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