STS-61-C

STS-61-C

Satcom-K1 is deployed from Columbia's payload bay.
Names	Space Transportation System-24
Mission type	Satellite deployment Microgravity research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1986-003A
SATCAT no.	16481
Mission duration	6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, 51 seconds
Distance travelled	4,069,481 km (2,528,658 mi)
Orbits completed	98
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space Shuttle Columbia
Launch mass	116,121 kg (256,003 lb)
Landing mass	95,325 kg (210,156 lb)
Payload mass	14,724 kg (32,461 lb)
Crew
Crew size	7
Members	Robert L. Gibson Charles Bolden George Nelson Steven Hawley Franklin Chang-Díaz Bill Nelson Robert J. Cenker
Start of mission
Launch date	January 12, 1986, 11:55:00 (January 12, 1986, 11:55:00) UTC (6:55 am EST)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	January 18, 1986, 13:58:51 (January 18, 1986, 13:58:51) UTC (5:58:51 am PST)
Landing site	Edwards, Runway 22
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	331 km (206 mi)
Apogee altitude	338 km (210 mi)
Inclination	28.45°
Period	91.20 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 Space Shuttle program ← 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.