Forty years ago, I sat at home with my one-month-old baby, watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Across New Hampshire that morning, televisions were rolled into classrooms, including those where my older daughters watched with their classmates at school, because one of our own was on board. Christa McAuliffe was not just a teacher at Concord High School — she was someone people across the state recognized themselves in and whose story had captured the attention of the country.
I was especially drawn to Christa because I was a former teacher. I saw in her the daily work of standing in front of a classroom full of students and making history come alive. When her application to NASA’s Teacher in Space program was chosen from more than 11,000 applicants, it felt like a recognition of the profession itself.
Christa spoke with excitement about space as a place of endless possibility, and about what it could open up for students. She imagined space as an extension of the classroom, a way to spark curiosity and encourage students to explore and ask questions. As people heard her talk about the mission, interest grew throughout New Hampshire.
That interest was evident the summer before her flight, when she rode in a parade down Main Street in Concord. In the months that followed, anticipation built as her training continued, fueled by the way she invited people into the shared sense of discovery.
Then, just moments after liftoff, as the shuttle rose against a clear sky, the Challenger was lost.
Classrooms went quiet as teachers helped students through shock and confusion. My daughters still remember exactly where they were that morning, the classmates and teachers around them, and how quickly the televisions were turned off and everyone sent back to their seats.
In the hours and days that followed, Concord High became a gathering place for grief and remembrance. Community memorials and vigils appeared across the city and state. Flags flew at half-staff as schools and churches opened their doors. At a time when schools had no counselors or guidance for moments like this, parents and teachers did their best to answer questions when there were no clear answers to give.
As difficult as that time was, it was something we went through together as a nation. Parents with their children, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors were watching and trying to understand what had happened. Christa had stepped forward not for personal gain, but on behalf of others. In that moment, it was natural to wonder whether that impulse would endure after such a loss.
In New Hampshire, the response was marked by steadiness, especially in classrooms and communities. Kids went back to school. Parents went back to work. Teachers helped students work through hard questions, even as they were processing what had happened themselves. The teacher’s apple pin Christa wore into space, a gift from the National Education Association, was returned to New Hampshire and put on display. There was grief, but there was also a shared sense of responsibility to continue the work Christa represented.
That commitment to learning and exploration did not fade once the moment passed. In the years that followed, New Hampshire invested in places like the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, ensuring that Christa’s belief in curiosity and exploration remained part of how students experience science and space.
Forty years later, Christa McAuliffe still has something to teach us. She believed ordinary people should be part of our national story, and that working on behalf of others was what mattered, not self-promotion. At a time when it can be harder to hold onto a sense of shared responsibility, Christa’s passion for exploration and learning offers a reminder of what once brought our state and nation together.
Jeanne Shaheen has represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate since 2009.