Christa McAuliffe Will Be Honored for Her Life, Not Challenger Disaster

Three years ago, Jeanne Gerulskis came to a new job that had her reliving the space shuttle Challenger disaster, all day long, every day.

A monitor in the lobby of the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium showed a continuous videotape loop of the explosion high in the sky that killed McAuliffe, a Concord High School teacher, and six other crew members on Jan. 28, 1986.

Adults stared at the disturbing video, sometimes in tears. Children born since the disaster that riveted the nation often had a different reaction.

“They would say, ‘Quick, quick, come here--it’s going to blow up again!’ ” said Gerulskis.

Soon after becoming the planetarium’s executive director in 1998, Gerulskis removed the video and began to focus the planetarium on McAuliffe’s life and vision, instead of her death.

This year, the planetarium, which sees about 60,000 visitors annually, will commemorate her Sept. 2 birthday with balloons and decorations.

“No one celebrates the day Abraham Lincoln was shot. They celebrate his birthday,” Gerulskis said.

Much of Concord shares Gerulskis’ sentiment.

The school where McAuliffe taught was not observing the anniversary this year. Soon after the Challenger explosion, McAuliffe’s family asked the city not to place her name on Concord High. However, the school auditorium where she said farewell to her students, and where many of them watched the explosion on television, was renovated and named in her honor.

McAuliffe’s remarried husband, Steven, a federal judge, rarely speaks publicly about the disaster.

The planetarium, the official state repository for McAuliffe items, has thousands of letters, poems and pieces of art, with items still coming in. None of them is on display. Around the lobby, visitors see a few photos and a painting of McAuliffe.

The closest thing to a shrine is a wall with two photos of McAuliffe, a copy of a Congressional Record tribute to her, and a box full of biographical handouts.

One of the places the anniversary will be observed is Framingham State College in Massachusetts, McAuliffe’s alma mater. The school has a Christa McAuliffe Center, which offers programs for teachers, and runs spaceflight programs for children in her honor.

Today, the college planned to unveil a mural of McAuliffe. McAuliffe’s mother, Grace Corrigan, who lives in Framingham and who regularly gives speeches about McAuliffe’s life and vision, was expected to attend.

In Florida, McAuliffe’s dreams of sharing her experience in space with her students are still being realized with proceeds from sales of a state-issued license plate commemorating the Challenger disaster.

To date, the plate has generated more than $35 million.

Proceeds from the $25 specialty-tag fee are split equally between the state’s Technological Research and Development Authority and the Astronaut Memorial Foundation.

Most of the money that goes to the research authority is spent on economic development initiatives geared toward the technology industry.

“I think people who’ve bought the plates would be pleased with how the funds are being utilized,” said Frank Kinney, executive director of the authority.

The foundation erected the $6.7-million Astronauts Memorial, along with a $4-million Center for Space Education.

It now is spending most of the money it receives from the Challenger tag--about $800,000 last year--to pay for education programs for school technology specialists.

“The astronauts are such deep believers in education that as part of this memorial we have a living memorial to the astronauts,” said Stephen Feldman, the foundation’s president.