Teacher in Space Project Barbara Morgan as her backup. McAuliffe was a high school social studies teacher from Concord, New Hampshire. She planned to teach two 15-minute lessons from the Space Shuttle. McAuliffe died in the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster (STS-51-L) on January 28, 1986. After the accident, Reagan spoke on national television and assured the nation that the Teacher in Space program would continue. "We'll continue our quest in space", he said. "There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue." However, NASA
Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center 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 popular. As the years passed,