The United States Mint is to memorialize Christa McAuliffe, teacher and astronaut who died in the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 in Cape Canaveral, with a commemorative silver dollar coin. The coins would be dated 2021, the 35th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.
On January 28, 1986, the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch. After her death, schools including Christa McAuliffe Elementary school in Palm Bay and scholarships were named in her honor. In 2004 she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.