Astronaut McAuliffe Interred Without Fanfare in Hometown
CONCORD, N.H. — The remains of Challenger astronaut Christa McAuliffe were buried today without fanfare in Concord, where she lived and taught high school.
The remains of the first private citizen picked for a space mission arrived Wednesday at Pease Air Force Base in Newington aboard a NASA plane. Police escorted the hearse into town.
A private, Roman Catholic interment service was held today at Calvary Cemetery. The service was conducted by Father James Leary, McAuliffe’s cousin, family spokesman Michael Callahan said.
“The family conveys its deep gratitude to all who respected its privacy in these moments,†Callahan said.
A private funeral Mass was said in St. Peter’s Catholic Church several days after McAuliffe and the six other astronauts died Jan. 28 when the space shuttle exploded.
McAuliffe, 37, mother of two, was selected last July from 10,000 people who applied for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s “Teacher in Space†program.
Some of the other astronauts are to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and others will be cremated or buried at their hometowns.
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