National

They 'slipped the surly bonds of earth:' A nation remembers the Challenger astronauts 30 years after

Front row from left are Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, and Ronald E. McNair. Front row from left are Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik. (NASA via AP)

It lasted only 73 seconds.

A hopeful nation watched in shock as a the space shuttle Challenger exploded just over one minute after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.

The horror playing out on live TV as nearly everyone was glued to their television to watch a teacher from New Hampshire live the dream of many: to go from an everyday job, in this case a high school teacher, to stepping into a spacecraft and blasting through the atmosphere.

Christa McAuliffe, the teacher and ordinary person, was chosen to be the one who would be the first civilian in space.

McAuliffe, who was one of more than 11,000 applicants for the program, told reporters that she was looking forward to her first space flight, WTVJ reported.

And while her life was cut short, McAuliffe's reach is still being felt by generations to come.

Many members of the class of 1986, who had McAuliffe as a teacher became teachers and guidance counselors themselves, CBS News reported.

They have also asked the Obama administration to name a national holiday to honor their former teacher and the rest of the Challenger crew.

They wanted to reach 100,000 signatures by Friday, but they have less than 350 supporters as of Thursday morning.

Dispite the lack of a national holiday, many people on social media are remembering McAuliffe, along with the six other crew members: Michael Smith, Francis "Dick" Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka and Gregory Jarvis.

As President Ronald Reagan said in an address to the nation hours after the horrific explosion, the Challenger 7 "'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"