"S. Christa McAuliffe Teacher in Space Participant Born: Sept. 2, 1948 From: Boston, Massachusetts Christa McAuliffe was selected as the primary candidate for the NASA Teacher in Space project on July 19, 1985. Vice President George Bush announced that Christa was the unanimous choice of NASA, selected from over 11,000 applicants, to be the first Teacher in Space. Christa's responsibility on the Challenger mission was to teach lessons from space via satellite to school children across the United States.";