The Space Shuttle: 7. Teacher in space

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

9.5 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nasa needs to kick-start new interest in the space shuttle. After multiple missions, public attention is waning and funding could suffer. Nasa want to do something about it. And come up with an innovative plan.

How about recruiting an astronaut from the classroom? The first teacher on a space mission. Nasa runs a competition, and the winner is Christa McAuliffe, a 36-year-old social studies teacher from New Hampshire. But has she got what it takes for the challenges of space?

This episode contains scenes some listeners may find upsetting.

Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle is a BBC Audio Science Unit production for the BBC World Service.

Hosted by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg, and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Archive: Ronald Reagan announces teacher in space programme, Reagan Library, 1984 George Bush announces Christa McAuliffe as teacher in space, Reagan Archive, 1984 Teacher training KC-135 flight, Nasa Archives, 1985 Teachers watch launch, Nasa Archives, 1985 Pre-flight press conference STS-51-L, 1986 Mission audio and oral histories, Nasa History Office

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Rory Stewart and I grew up wanting to be a hero and I'm still fascinated by the ideas of heroism.
0:09.0	In my new series, I'm taking in the long sweep of history from Achilles to Zelensky and asking, what is a hero?
0:16.0	Simply doing your job, being a decent human being.
0:20.0	A true hero is someone who just kind of shines by their
0:23.3	own light and that light is to be recognized by others. The Long History of Heroism with me,
0:28.5	Rory Stewart. Listen on BBC Sounds. Before we start, don't forget, there are two previous seasons
0:36.0	of 13 Minutes, the home of epic space stories.
0:40.2	They're available right now, and I'll waiting for you once you've finished this episode.
0:45.7	This episode contains scenes some listeners might find upsetting, and some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.
0:59.7	Some succeed by what they know, some by what they do, and few by what they are.
1:06.3	A large, high-ceilinged room hung with paintings.
1:10.4	At one end of it, two doors flank an imposing fireplace.
1:15.1	This is the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
1:19.3	Clearly, our ten finalists have succeeded in all three categories.
1:24.1	NASA administrator, James Beggs, stands at a podium addressing the invited guests and media.
1:31.0	To his right is the United States Vice President, George Bush Sr.
1:36.0	To his left is a group of six women and four men.
1:40.0	They've demonstrated that they're winners, and we're very proud of these 10 young men and women.
1:46.7	It's July 1985, and one of these 10 is about to make history.
1:53.8	When the shuttle program was first announced 15 years earlier, it promised to make spaceflight routine.
2:00.8	So far, 18 shuttle missions have flown,
2:03.4	and the schedule is ramping up. There have already been full launches this year, and another five
	...

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