Christa McAuliffe

Sharon Christa McAuliffe (September 2, 1948 - January 28, 1986) was a American teacher and astronaut from New Hampshire who died during the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. She was born Sharon Christa Corrigan in Boston, Massachusetts.

McAuliffe received a B.A. from Framingham State College in 1970 and a Master's in education from Bowie State College in 1978. She taught Social Studies at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire, USA.

She was selected to be part of the Shuttle crew as part of the "Teacher in Space" program on July 19, 1985; her official mission job title was payload specialist. She was the first teacher in space.

Civilians would not travel aboard the Space Shuttle for many years as a result of the disaster although out of respect for McAuliffe she is officially regarded as the first teacher into space although she never truly made it.