STS-61-C

STS-61-C
Satcom-K1 is deployed from Columbia's payload bay.
NamesSpace Transportation System-24
Mission typeSatellite deployment
Microgravity research
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID1986-003A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.16481
Mission duration6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, 51 seconds
Distance travelled4,069,481 km (2,528,658 mi)
Orbits completed98
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSpace Shuttle Columbia
Launch mass116,121 kg (256,003 lb)
Landing mass95,325 kg (210,156 lb)
Payload mass14,724 kg (32,461 lb)
Crew
Crew size7
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateJanuary 12, 1986, 11:55:00 (January 12, 1986, 11:55:00) UTC (6:55 am EST)
Launch siteKennedy, LC-39A
ContractorRockwell International
End of mission
Landing dateJanuary 18, 1986, 13:58:51 (January 18, 1986, 13:58:51) UTC (5:58:51 am PST)
Landing siteEdwards, Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude331 km (206 mi)
Apogee altitude338 km (210 mi)
Inclination28.45°
Period91.20 minutes
Instruments
  • Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program (CHAMP)
  • Getaway Special (GAS) canisters
  • Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing (SILTS)
  • Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP)

STS-61-C mission patch

Standing: Nelson, Hawley and Nelson
Seated: Cenker, Bolden, Gibson and Chang-Díaz
← STS-61-B (23)
STS-51-L (25) →

STS-61-C was the 24th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the seventh mission of Space Shuttle Columbia. It was the first time that Columbia, the first space-rated Space Shuttle orbiter to be constructed, had flown since STS-9. The mission launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on January 12, 1986, and landed six days later on January 18, 1986. STS-61-C's seven-person crew included the first Costa Rican-born astronaut, Franklin Chang-Díaz, the second African-American shuttle pilot, Charles Bolden, and the second sitting politician to fly in space, Rep. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Both Bolden and Nelson would also later go on to become Administrators of NASA. STS-61-C was the last shuttle mission before the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which occurred ten days after STS-61-C's landing.