Michael and Mary Fitzgibbons, like many others, can remember exactly where they were when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded over the Florida sky Jan. 28, 1986.

But unlike most people, Michael Fitzgibbons watched the footage of the tragic launch knowing he’d come close to being on it.

Fitzgibbons, a former Forest Grove High School teacher, was one of 114 finalists to be the first private citizen in space. As an ambassador for NASA's Teacher in Space Project, he donned a jumpsuit for his presentations at schools and community groups, even after the Challenger disaster.

“You name it, I did it,” Fitzgibbons said. “I went everywhere.”

It was a cold 38 degrees in Cape Canaveral the day the Challenger launched, exploding 73 seconds after liftoff when rubber O-rings failed to seal sections of the rocket boosters. All seven members of the crew died, their remains found on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean months later.

Alongside other teacher ambassadors, Fitzgibbons, now 67, had awaited the Challenger launch at the Kennedy Space Center. But when the first few launch dates were cancelled, Fitzgibbons headed back home to Hillsboro.

Fitzgibbons and his wife, who have two children, were both in bed when the shuttle launched on its fatal 10th mission. They got a call from a friend, telling them to turn on the television.

“It was shock,” said Mary Fitzgibbons. “The implications were for more than just our family.”

Before long the Fitzgibbons were hit by a media blitz. Mary Fitzgibbons said up to a dozen media groups showed up at their house, asking for individual turns with Michael for interviews.

To the public, the members of the crew were fallen heroes. But for Fitzgibbons, they were acquaintances and friends. He would later attend the Jan. 31 funeral service for the crew at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, with other teacher ambassadors.

“I never ever really felt, ever, like ‘geez that could have been me’,” Fitzgibbons said. “I just felt badly for the airmen and their families. It was gravely shocking.”

A 'SPACE CADET'

Fitzgibbons had always enjoyed astronomy – as a kid he would sit on the roof with his BB gun and shoot out neighbor’s lights so he could better see the stars.

So in August 1984, when President Ronald Reagan announced that NASA would search for a teacher to be the first private citizen in space, Fitzgibbons said it was an easy decision to apply. His job then was teaching high school astronomy and physics. Mary Fitzgibbons said her husband's interest in the program "fit who he was," joking about him being a "space cadet."

Michael Fitzgibbons presents about the space shuttle in August 1985. Fitzgibbons acted as an ambassador through the Teacher in Space project.

The application process for the Teacher in Space project was extensive, said Fitzgibbons, who was then also a member of the Army Reserves. He submitted several essays, asking him to explain his communication skills, philosophy of teaching, and how he helps students develop an awareness of the world. He outlined his plan to teach a lesson in space if given the chance. He gathered letters of recommendation from then Forest Grove High School principal Ellen Stevens, a teacher and a fellow Hillsboro community member.

“The greatest challenge in the world is trying to crack into a young person’s mind and bring out those dreams,” Fitzgibbons wrote in an application essay. “I’m a dreamer teaching dreamers.”

A TEACHER IN SPACE

When President Reagan announced the Teacher in Space Project, he said the first citizen in space would be “one of America’s finest.”

“When that shuttle lifts off, all of America will be reminded of the crucial role teachers and education play in the life of our nation,” Reagan said.

In total, about 11,000 teachers applied nationwide, and about 170 applied in Oregon for the program. Fitzgibbons passed the initial screening and was selected for an interview, given to the top 10 Oregon candidates. He bought a sport coat for the 15-minute slot, scheduled at 9:45 a.m. on April 20, 1985 at the Oregon Department of Education in Salem.

ODE had selected a 30-member committee of communications professionals, educators and community leaders for the interviews. He was nervous of course, Fitzgibbons said. But for him, nervousness becomes excitement, which translates to enthusiasm.

The enthusiasm must have served him well – Fitzgibbons was selected to represent Oregon, along with Medford teacher Stephen Boyarsky.

"To be a finalist is important in itself and we in Oregon should be very proud of you," former Oregon Governor and U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield wrote in a letter to Fitzgibbons.

It was one of several congratulatory letters Fitzgibbons has kept from politicians, fellow teachers and Oregon education leaders.

“The heavens are yours, Mr. Fitzgibbons,” wrote Jeannette Hamby, an Oregon legislator who represented Washington County. “Hold the door wide for our children.”

The 114 finalists were interviewed again during a week-long conference in Washington D.C. in June 1985. Fitzgibbons said he was interviewed by actress Pam Dawber who starred in the ABC sitcom "Mork and Mindy."

Fitzgibbons can list off the events that packed the week, such as meeting the crew of the Challenger, a private dinner in the Smithsonian National Air and Space museum, President Reagan's anecdotes about his own favorite teachers. Teachers learned about life in space and how the shuttle works. More than anything else, it was a bonding experience for Fitzgibbons and the other ambassadors, some of whom he still speaks with today.

But Fitzgibbon’s personal mission to space was not to be. Fitzgibbons left Washington D.C. after the conference and waited for a call announcing the top 10 teachers.

“I never got the call,” Fitzgibbons said with a laugh. Instead, he later got a Western Union Mailgram, dated July 1 1985, with the list of finalists.

“I know that you are personally disappointed but hope you recognize these ten as representatives of the outstanding calibre (sic) of the candidates including you who were in Washington last week,” the Mailgram reads in all capital letters.

From those 10 came the final two – top choice Christa McAuliffe from New Hampshire, and alternate Barbara Morgan from Idaho.

“I was disappointed,” Fitzgibbons said. “(But) a smart choice was who they chose.”

In September 1985, McAuliffe responded on NASA letterhead to a note from Fitzgibbons, saying she hoped to see the other ambassadors before taking off.

“Needless to say, I’m very excited, not only about my flight in January, but also about representing all of you,” she wrote.

THE DAY OF THE LAUNCH

As Fitzgibbons dealt with the news of the tragedy at home, students across the nation had watched the explosion live.

Doug Thompson, now an assistant principal and athletic director at Forest Grove High School, was then 15 and a sophomore at the school. He said the student body was aware of Fitzgibbons’ success as a finalist.

“It was common knowledge, I think for most of the school,” Thompson said. “We were all really proud.”

At the high school that day, Thompson remembers watching the launch in a global studies class. When the shuttle first started to break apart, he thought it was normal, until he heard the tone of the TV announcer’s voice change.

“The first thought in my mind was ‘oh no’,” he said, then thinking of Fitzgibbons and his family. “It hit a little harder here because it could have been one of our own.”

The explosion claimed the lives of all seven crew members – Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis and McAuliffe.

Tom McCall Upper Elementary, then a middle school, and Neil Armstrong Middle School were set up as "space flight theaters" for the live launch live, inviting students and community members to join, according to a memo Fitzgibbons has kept.

Howard Sullivan, Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce executive director and then a social studies teacher at Tom McCall, said between 175 to 200 people were watching the launch at the school.

“It had its own vibrancy, then just like that,” he said. “This horrific event happens and you have to usher these kids back to class.”

At the high school, Thompson said his class talked about the tragedy but also bigger implications for NASA. For fellow students, Thompson said it impacted dreams.

“Everybody at some point in their life wants to be an astronaut,” he said. “You’re not invincible.”

FUTURE OF THE PROGRAM

The Teacher in Space project was discontinued after the Challenger tragedy. President Reagan appointed a commission to investigate the accident, and all NASA shuttle missions were grounded until the launch of the Discovery in September 1988.

Fitzgibbons said his role as ambassador, however, just “petered out,” and never formally ended. He continued to give presentations and attend conferences for about a year and a half after the tragedy, once speaking to a friend’s science class in England.

In 1998, NASA selected Barbara Morgan, Teacher in Space runner-up, as its first Educator Astronaut. The program recruited teachers to leave their profession to become trained astronauts. Morgan went to space on the Endeavour shuttle in 2007.

Fitzgibbons didn't pursue the Educator Astronaut program. He felt he'd contributed with the Teacher in Space project, and didn't want to give up education. Retired from Forest Grove High School, he still works with the physics department at Portland State University.

But if given the chance to go to space, Fitzgibbons said he would take it “in a heartbeat.”

“We do a lot of dangerous things,” he said. “We can’t let that kind of stuff stop us.”

--Laura Frazier