Statue of fallen ‘Teacher-in-Space’ Christa McAuliffe unveiled at NH state house

A statue of Christa McAuliffe, NASA’s “Teacher-in-Space” who died aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, has been unveiled in New Hampshire, the state where she taught.

The new memorial was revealed Monday (Sep. 2) — on what would have been McAuliffe’s 76th birthday — during a ceremony outside of the state house in Concord. The larger-than-life bronze statue depicts McAuliffe wearing her NASA flight suit, smiling and striding forward, similar to how she appeared 38 years ago when she headed out for the launch pad.

“This isn’t just a statue. It is really a symbol of what we’re trying to promote here in New Hampshire,” said Governor Chris Sununu, whose idea it was to establish the monument. “This is a symbol of opportunity and the hope that every kid, that every individual, as they cross these grounds, gets to take a little bit of pride in here, the great Granite State.”

The governor was joined at the ceremony by other state officials, members of McAuliffe’s family, NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy and former students who were taught by McAuliffe.

“We are excited that this statue not only honors Christa’s contribution, but also serves as a beacon of inspiration for future generations, ensuring that her legacy continues to shape the course of human space exploration,” said Melroy, who was one of only two women to command the space shuttle. “Happy birthday, Christa.”

McAuliffe was a 37-year-old high school social sciences teacher when she was chosen out of 11,000 applicants to be the first “private citizen” to fly into space. Trained as a payload specialist, she was assigned to NASA’s STS-51L mission led by commander Dick Scobee, with pilot Mike Smith and mission specialists Judy Resnik, Ellison Onizuka and Ron McNair. Greg Jarvis, a fellow payload specialist representing his employer Hughes, rounded out the crew.

On Jan. 28, 1986, McAuliffe lifted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger with plans to record six science lessons, ranging from magnetism to simple machines, when in Earth orbit. Seventy-three seconds into flight a compromised pressure seal in one of the shuttle’s two solid rocket boosters failed, resulting in the vehicle breaking apart. McAuliffe and her crewmates were killed.

Thirty-seven years later, Sununu signed an executive order establishing the Christa McAuliffe State House Memorial Commission with the purpose of honoring “Christa’s legacy as a selfless and courageous New Hampshire educator and astronaut.” The panel included an appointee from the governor’s office, a state senator and two state representatives, the executive director of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center and three members of the public.

The commission hired artist Benjamin Victor, an Idaho-based sculptor, to create the statue of McAuliffe. Victor, 45, is the only living artist to have four works in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. His first statue for the hall was completed when he was just 26, making him the youngest artist ever to have a sculpture in the national collection.

In second grade when the Challenger tragedy occurred, Victor used archival footage and interviews to capture McAuliffe’s likeness. He also had the help of Barbara Morgan, McAuliffe’s backup and NASA’s first educator-astronaut, who today lives in Boise and knew Victor prior to his selection as the statue’s artist.

“She [Morgan] provided her uniform for me to work from,” said Victor during a presentation at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center on Sunday. “I had it hanging there as I worked on the sculpture. So I had the exact same uniform, down to every detail — the patches, the badges, the ‘Teacher in Space’ patch — so it really gave it a personal touch.”

Beyond honoring McAuliffe as an astronaut and teacher, Victor’s work is the first to depict a woman to be installed at the state house (it is also the first statue to be added to the capitol grounds in more than 100 years).The 8-foot-tall (2.4-meter) statue stands atop a 20,000-pound (9,100-kilogram), solid-granite base that displays McAuliffe’s name in raised letters and bears bronze plaques that identify the statue as being presented by the people of New Hampshire and, below the years she lived, reproduces McAuliffe’s famous quote, “I touch the future. I teach.”

The newly-revealed statue is the latest tribute to McAuliffe, who is memorialized with her crewmates on a monument at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, on the Space Mirror Memorial at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and as the namesake of numerous schools. Craters on the moon and Venus were named for McAuliffe, as was an asteroid. In 2021, the U.S. Mint issued a commemorative silver dollar bearing her likeness.

The New Hampshire memorial commission worked with a budget of $500,000 provided by the state, Half of the funds went to the creation of the statue, with the remainder underwriting its installation, dedication and on-going upkeep.

The commission also organized an art competition themed around McAuliffe’s life and work. New Hampshire students in three grade levels (Kindergarten through fourth; fifth through eighth and high school) were invited to submit works in either the visual arts, poetry or essay.

All of the artwork that was received went on display at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in June. The three winners were announced as part of the statue’s dedication on Monday.

Click through to collectSPACE to see more photos from the unveiling of the Christa McAuliffe statue at the New Hampshire State House.

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