Christa McAuliffe Christa McAuliffe Sharon Christa McAuliffe (born Sharon Christa Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire and one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster. She received her bachelor's degree in education and history from Framingham State College in 1970 and also a master's degree in education, supervision and administration from Bowie State University in 1978. She took a teaching position as a social studies teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire in 1983. In 1985, she was selected from more than 11,000 applicants
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster California; Lowell, Massachusetts; Houston, Texas; and Lenexa, Kansas, named in honor of Christa McAuliffe. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, a science museum and planetarium in Concord, New Hampshire, is also partly named in her honor. There is also an elementary school in Germantown, Maryland, named after Christa McAuliffe as well as in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Hastings, Minnesota. The draw bridge over the barge canal on State Rd.3 on Merritt Island, Florida, is named the Christa McAuliffe Memorial Bridge. In Oxnard, Ca, McAuliffe Elementary School is named after Christa McAuliffe, and bears tribute to the crew of the "Challenger" flight in