NH’s Christa McAuliffe Remembered in Netflix Documentary

I remember January 28, 1986, the day that the Challenger exploded.

Here in New Hampshire, we were particularly proud that one of our own was going to be aboard the Challenger.  Concord, NH school teacher, Christa McAuliffe was going to be the first teacher in space!  We were so excited for months and months before the actual launch.

I was at work and I got a call from one of the guys that I worked with who said, "the Challenger exploded."  I said, "What?  What are you talking about?  The Challenger?  But that can't be true!  Christa is on that flight!"  At the time, we all felt like we knew her with all the press that we were being given.  I was in complete denial and didn't believe this guy until I turned on the television and saw that he wasn't pulling a prank on me, it was true.

We saw the explosion and the trails of fire and smoke it produced go in several different directions in the sky.  All seven aboard perished, including NH school teacher, Christa McAuliffe.  I was horrified to know that Christa's family was in Florida, watching the launch live.  I can't imagine the pain they must have felt.

Christa was born in Boston and moved to Framingham where she graduated high school.  She moved to Concord, NH with her husband, Steven McAuliffe accepted a position as Assistant to the NH Attorney General, according to Wiki.  At the time of the explosion, she and Steven had two children, Scott and Caroline who were 9 and 6 years old at the time.

Starting tomorrow, Netflix premieres a four part documentary series called "Challenger:  The Final Flight" according to abcnews.com. I have watched the following Trailer for the series and I warn you, before you watch it, you may need a tissue.