National Air and Space Museum Archives

Sharon Christa McAuliffe Letter

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2018.0033
Creators:
McAuliffe, Sharon Christa,, 1948-1986.
Dates:
1986-1987
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.18 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:
This collection consists of one letter, on National Aeronautics Administration (NASA) Teacher in Space Program letterhead, from Sharon Christa McAuliffe in reply to Marcia Holland. It is signed by McAuliffe and includes a handwritten postscript. The collection also includes an invitation for the dedication ceremony of the Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Lenexa, Kansas on September 27, 1987 at which the letter was exhibited.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of one letter, on National Aeronautics Administration (NASA) Teacher in Space Program letterhead, from Sharon Christa McAuliffe in reply to Marcia Holland. It is signed by McAuliffe and includes a handwritten postscript. The collection also includes an invitation for the dedication ceremony of the Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Lenexa, Kansas on September 27, 1987 at which the letter was exhibited.

Arrangement

Arrangement
This collection is in chronological order.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Sharon Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986) was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to become the first private citizen to fly on the Space Shuttle as part of the Teacher in Space Program. McAuliffe was assigned to be part of the crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-51L aboard the Challenger (OV-99) and was scheduled to conduct experiments as well as teach lessons from space that would be broadcast to schoolchildren via closed-circuit television. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch when a external fuel booster failed. All seven members of the crew died.
Marcia Holland was a teacher at Central Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas who wrote a letter to Christa McAuliffe wishing her well and telling her that Holland's students were keeping journals similar to that McAuliffe planned to keep during her flight onboard the Space Shuttle.

Administration

Author
Jessamyn Lloyd
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Marcia Holland, Gift, 2018, NASM.2018.0033.
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Jessamyn Lloyd, 2018.

Digital Content


Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Preferred Citation
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Letter, NASM.2018.0033, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Astronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Astronauts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Space flight Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Educators Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Invitations Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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