Christa McAuliffe probable the O-rings had not provided a proper seal. Barbara Radding Morgan, her backup, became a professional astronaut in January 1998, and flew on Space Shuttle mission STS-118, to the International Space Station, on August 8, 2007, aboard "Endeavour", the orbiter that replaced "Challenger". McAuliffe was buried at Blossom Hill Cemetery in her hometown, Concord. She has since been honored at many events, including the Daytona 500 NASCAR race in 1986. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord and the Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center for Education and Teaching Excellence at Framingham State University are named in her memory, as are the
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center artful and entertaining activities that explore astronomy, aviation, earth and space science. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center offers of interactive science and engineering exhibits, outdoor exhibits including a full-sized replica of a Mercury-Redstone rocket, a full-dome digital planetarium, an observatory, science store, café, portable digital planetarium and a full complement of on- and off-site educational programs. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center began as a stand-alone planetarium serving as the official State of New Hampshire memorial to Christa McAuliffe. Opening in June 1990 as the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, in 2001 it became the official state memorial to Admiral Alan Shepard as well. In