Christa McAuliffe According to "The New York Times", she "emphasized the impact of ordinary people on history, saying they were as important to the historical record as kings, politicians or generals." In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced the Teacher in Space Project, and Christa learned about NASA's efforts to find their first civilian, an educator, to fly into space. NASA wanted to find an "ordinary person," a gifted teacher who could communicate with students while in orbit. McAuliffe became one of more than 11,000 applicants. NASA hoped that sending a teacher into space would increase public interest in the Space Shuttle program,
Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center information on their website, http://spacecenter.alpineschools.org/ Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center (known as the McAuliffe Space Center or CMSEC), in Pleasant Grove, Utah, teaches school children about space and is visited by students from around the world. It has a number of space flight simulators. The center, named for educator Christa McAuliffe, killed in "Challenger" disaster, was started in 1990 by Victor Williamson, an educator at Central Elementary School. It is a building added onto Central Elementary. It aims to teach astronomy and social studies through the use of simulators; the first, "Voyager", proved itself