Christa McAuliffe Day is January 28. Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
In 1985, McAuliffe was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to participate in the NASA Teacher in Space Project and was scheduled to become the first teacher in space. As a member of mission STS-51-L, she was planning to conduct experiments and teach two lessons from Space Shuttle Challenger. On January 28, 1986, the spacecraft disintegrated 73 seconds after launch. After her death, schools and scholarships were named in her honor, and also in 2004 she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
According to NASA, it was in part because of the excitement over McAuliffe's presence on Challenger that the accident had such a significant effect on the nation. Many schoolchildren were viewing the launch live, and media coverage of the accident was extensive.
McAuliffe's remains were buried at Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord, New Hampshire. She has since been honored at many events, including the Daytona 500 auto race in 1986. The Christa McAuliffe Planetarium/McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, the Christa Corrigan Hennessy Center for Education and Teaching Excellence at Framingham State College, and the Christa McAuliffe Residential Community building at Bowie State University are named in her memory, as are the asteroid 3352 McAuliffe, the crater McAuliffe on the Moon, and a crater on the planet Venus, which was named McAuliffe by the Soviet Union. Approximately 40 schools around the world have been named after her, including the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove, Utah.The nurses’ cabin at Camp Wabasso in new Hampshire is named after McAuliffe because she attended the camp as a Girl Scout. There is also a display case with her picture and other artifacts in one of the hallways.
System status
A new library system and online catalog will debut on May 30. Here's the current status of:
- Checkouts: May 24-29 you must have your physical library card in hand to check out materials.
- Due dates: All checkouts will have a due date of June 22, except DVDs and GRU watt meters, which still have 7-day limit.
- Holds and requests: New holds and purchase requests cannot be placed until May 30, but those placed previously will continue to be processed.
- Returns: Please "Babysit Our Books" — keep them until the new system is running smoothly (mid-June).
- Registration: Continues as usual today, but cannot be done May 24-29, as our entire system will be down.
- Interlibrary loan: Continues as usual throughout the transition.
- Digital checkouts: OverDrive checkouts and holds will work normally throughout the transition.
- My Discoveries: Will be retired with the AquaBrowser catalog on May 24. Please retrieve any saved book lists before then.
- Website: The Library District website (www.aclib.us) will be up as normal throughout the transition.
- My Account: Account info will be available through May 24. Your account will appear on the new system on May 30.
- Bill payment: All payments including PayPal are working today. No payments can be accepted May 24-29
- New catalog: Watch for its debut on May 30, with new features.
More about the transition.
More about the new online catalog.
Have any questions? Please Ask Us!
