3352 McAuliffe planet was named in memory of Christa McAuliffe (1948–1986), teacher, civilian astronaut and one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on 28 January 1986. The minor planets , , , , , and were named for the other crew members of the ill-fated STS-51-L mission. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 March 1986 (). 3352 McAuliffe 3352 McAuliffe (), provisional designation , is a rare-type asteroid and suspected binary system, classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered
Christa Collins a hospital, Denise Larson wanted to go inside to see if they could make an appointment for her daughter. While her mother was crossing the street, she was accidentally run over by a male hit and run driver. Denise died from her injuries. The driver was never found. Christa was eventually dropped from Disney Records and her second album was shelved. Her father is now remarried to his third wife. After losing her mother, who was also her manager, Larson effectively left show business in 1992. After Denise died Christa dropped out of high school. Christa later got married to