CHRISTA MCAULIFFE

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Barely 100 people — all masked and seated or standing far apart — gathered in front of Kennedy Space Center’s Space Mirror Memorial. The widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee quietly observed the anniversary from her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In a recent interview, June Scobee Rodgers said the presence of teacher Christa McAuliffe on the flight added to the crew’s lasting legacy. Scobee Rodgers helped establish the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in the wake of the accident, along with the other Challenger families. This year's observance focused on the Challenger crew — McAuliffe, Scobee, Michael Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Ronald McNair and Gregory Jarvis.

Orders for the 2021 Christa McAuliffe Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin begin Jan. 28, 2021, on the 35th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy, via the U.S. Mint website. (Image credit: U.S. Mint)A new U.S. coin honoring Christa McAuliffe , NASA's first "Teacher in Space," will help continue her educational mission 35 years after she and her six astronaut crewmates were tragically lost in flight. The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2021 Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Silver Dollar at 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) on Wednesday (Jan. 28), the 35th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger tragedy. She and her STS-51L crewmates were tragically killed when a faulty rocket booster led to the space shuttle Challenger breaking apart 73 seconds into its launch on Jan. 28, 1986. Infographic: The Challenger shuttle disaster: What happened?

In moments of crisis, American presidents have sought to summon words to match the moment in the hope that the power of oratory can bring order to chaos and despair. The oratory of crisis typically consists of either a formal statement or an extemporaneous speech. And it is in our power to do something about it.”Unlike Trump, Biden was unsparing in his remarks after the insurrection at the Capitol about where blame lay. But Biden even then, in 1987, was also known for his ability to use words, albeit sometimes too many of them. The challenge for crisis oratory is to not underplay the severity of the problem or foster a new sense of panic.

(CNN) - The United States Mint is to memorialize Christa McAuliffe, the teacher and astronaut who died in the Challenger disaster in 1986, with a commemorative silver dollar coin. The Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2019 was passed by Congress, and the bill will go to the President to be signed into law. The act calls for the Department of Treasury to "issue not more than 350,000 $1 silver coins in commemoration of Christa McAuliffe." If the President signs the act, the coins will be minted in 2021 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the tragedy. FIRST uses robotic competitions to encourage children to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.