A quote in the foyer of the Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson reads: “I touch the future. I teach.’’
Thirty years ago today, students, teachers and people around the world watched intently as the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on what was supposed to be a ground-breaking mission with the first civilian — teacher Christa McAuliffe — flying into space.
All of that changed at 11:39 a.m. Eastern time, when Challenger — carrying McAuliffe, payload specialist Gregory Jarvis, mission specialists Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, and Ellison S. Onizuka, mission commander Francis R. ”Dick” Scobee, and pilot Mike J. Smith — exploded 73 seconds after liftoff.
It left the nation in shock — thousands of classrooms across the United States were tuned in live to watch the launch — and in mourning. President Ronald Reagan eulogized the crew, quoting from the poem High Flight: “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’ ”
McAuliffe, a social studies teacher in New Hampshire, was to have taught two lessons from aboard the shuttle, according to the Jackson Township school district website, which named the Christa McAuliffe Middle School in her honor. The quote in the school’s foyer is from McAuliffe, whose mother, Grace Corrigan, came to help cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for the school in 1993, district spokeswoman Allison Erwin said.
McAuliffe’s first lesson from space would have introduced each flight member, explained their roles, shown the cockpit with its 1,300 switches and dials, and explained how crew members ate, slept, and exercised in microgravity. The second would have explained how the shuttle flew, discussed why people explore space, and reported on technological advances created by the space program.
Throughout her voyage McAuliffe was to have kept a journal, inspired by the journals of the pioneer women who left their homes in search of a new frontier, according to the website.
“That’s our new frontier out there, and it’s everybody’s business to know about space,” McAuliffe said as she prepared for the mission.
NASA is holding special commemorations of the disaster today. You can read about those — and its tributes to the astronauts killed in the Columbia mission in 2003 and in Apollo 1 in 1967 — by clicking here. There are videos as well as written tributes to the astronauts.
What do you remember about that day? Share your memories and thoughts in the comments below.
(Photo: NASA.gov)
