STS-61-C

STS-61-C

Satcom-K1is deployed fromColumbia's payload bay.
Names	Space Transportation System-24
Mission type	Satellite deployment Microgravity research
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1986-003A
SATCATno.	16481
Mission duration	6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, 51 seconds (achieved)
Distance travelled	4,069,481 km (2,528,658 mi)
Orbits completed	98
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Space ShuttleColumbia
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, 11:55:00UTC
Rocket	Space ShuttleColumbia
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center,LC-39A
Contractor	Rockwell International
End of mission
Landing date	January 18, 1986, 13:58:51 UTC
Landing site	Edwards Air Force Base, 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 Back row:Bill Nelson,Steven Hawley,George Nelson, Front row:Robert J. Cenker,Charles Bolden,Robert L. Gibson,Franklin Chang-Díaz Space Shuttle program

Launch of STS-61-C

STS-61-Cwas the 24th mission ofNASA'sSpace Shuttle program,and the seventh mission ofSpace ShuttleColumbia.It was the first time thatColumbia,the first space-rated Space Shuttle orbiter to be constructed, had flown sinceSTS-9.The mission launched fromFlorida'sKennedy Space Centeron January 12, 1986, and landed six days later on January 18, 1986. STS-61-C's seven-person crew included the firstCosta Rican-born astronaut,Franklin Chang-Díaz,and 2 futureAdministrators of NASA:the secondAfrican-Americanshuttle pilot,Charles Bolden,and the second sitting politician to fly in space,RepresentativeBill Nelson(D-FL). It was the last shuttle mission before theSpace ShuttleChallengerdisaster,which occurred ten days after STS-61-C's landing.

Crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Robert L. Gibson Second spaceflight
Pilot	Charles Bolden First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	George Nelson Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	Steven Hawley Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 3	/Franklin Chang-Díaz First spaceflight
Payload Specialist 1	Bill Nelson(U.S. Representative D-FL) Only spaceflight
Payload Specialist 2	Robert J. Cenker(RCA) Only spaceflight

Backup crew

Position	Astronaut
Payload Specialist 2	Gerard E. Magilton (RCA)

Crew seating arrangements

Seat	Launch	Landing	Seats 1–4 are on the Flight Deck. Seats 5–7 are on the Middeck.
S1	Gibson	Gibson
S2	Bolden	Bolden
S3	G. Nelson	Chang-Díaz
S4	Hawley	Hawley
S5	Chang-Díaz	G. Nelson
S6	B. Nelson	B. Nelson
S7	Cenker	Cenker

Mission background

STS-61-C sawColumbiareturn to flight for the first time since the STS-9 mission in November 1983, after having undergone major modifications over the course of 18 months byRockwell InternationalinCalifornia.Most notable of these modifications was the addition of the SILTS (Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing) pod atopColumbia'svertical stabilizer, which used an infrared camera to observe reentry heating on the shuttle's left wing and part of its fuselage. The camera was only used for a few more missions after STS-61-C, but the pod remained onColumbiafor the remainder of its operational life. Smaller and more discreet modifications were also added at various points throughout the shuttle. The bulky ejection seats, which had been disabled afterSTS-4,were replaced with conventional seats andhead-up displaysfor the commander and pilot were installed.

The launch was originally scheduled for December 18, 1985, but the closeout of an aft orbiter compartment was delayed, and the mission was rescheduled for the following day. However, on December 19, 1985, the countdown was stopped at T-14 seconds due to an out-of-tolerance turbine reading on the right SRB's hydraulic system. Another launch attempt, on January 6, 1986, was terminated at T-31 seconds because of a problem in a valve in theliquid oxygensystem. The countdown was recycled to T-20 minutes for a second launch attempt on the same day, but was held at T-9 minutes, and then scrubbed as the launch window expired.Another attempt was made on January 7, 1986, but was scrubbed because of bad weather at contingency landing sites atDakar,Senegal,andMorón de la Frontera,Spain;yet another attempt, on January 9, 1986, was delayed because of a problem with a main engine prevalve, and on January 10, 1986, heavy rainfall in the launch area led to another scrub.

Mission summary

STS-61-C landing

After four unsuccessful launch attempts,Columbialaunched successfully from Kennedy Space Center at 6:55:00 a.m.ESTon January 12, 1986. There were no significant anomalies reported during the launch.

The primary objective of the mission was to deploy theSatcom-K1communications satellite,second in a planned series ofgeosynchronous satellitesowned and operated byRCA Americom;the deployment was successful.Columbiaalso carried a large number of small scientific experiments, including 13Getaway Special(GAS) canisters devoted to investigations involving the effect ofmicrogravityon materials processing,seed germination,chemical reactions,egg hatching,astronomy,atmospheric physics,and an experiment designed by Ellery Kurtz and Howard Wishnow to determine the effects of the space environment on fine arts materials and original oil paintings, flying four of Kurtz's paintings into space. It also carried theMaterials Science Laboratory-2 structure for experiments involvingliquid bubble suspensionbysound waves,melting and resolidification of metallic samples and container-less melting and solidification of electrically conductive specimens. Another small experiment carrier located in the payload bay was the Hitchhiker G-1 (HHG-1), which carried three experiments to study film particles in the orbiter environment, test a new heat transfer system and determine the effects of contamination andatomic oxygenonultravioletoptics materials, respectively. There were also four in-cabin experiments, three of them part of the Shuttle Student Involvement Program. The shuttle carried an experiment called the Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program (CHAMP), consisting of a 35 mm (1.4 in) camera intended to photographHalley's Cometthrough the aft flight deck overhead window. This experiment proved unsuccessful because of battery problems.

According to Bolden, in addition to deploying the RCA satellite, Cenker operated a classified experiment for theUnited States Air Forceduring the mission. Bolden was only told that it was a prototype for aninfraredimaging camera.

STS-61-C was originally scheduled to last seven days, but NASA decided to end it after four because its delays had delayed the next flight,STS-51-L.It was rescheduled to land on January 17, 1986, but this was brought forward by one day. However, the landing attempt on January 16, 1986, was canceled because of unfavorable weather atEdwards Air Force Base.Continued bad weather forced another wave-off the following day. The flight was extended one more day to provide for a landing opportunity at Kennedy Space Center on January 18, 1986 – this was in order to avoid time lost in an Edwards Air Force Base landing and turnaround. However, bad weather at the KSC landing site resulted in yet another wave-off.

Columbiafinally landed at Edwards Air Force Base on its fifth landing attemptat 5:59:51 a.m.PST,on January 18, 1986. The mission lasted a total of 6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 51 seconds. STS-61-C was the last successful Space Shuttle flight before theChallengerdisaster, which occurred on January 28, 1986, only 10 days afterColumbia's return. Accordingly, commander Gibson later called the STS-61-C mission "The End of Innocence" for the Shuttle Program.

Nelson, the Floridacongressman,had hoped to receive a Florida orange after landing in the state. The personnel at Edwards greeted the crew with what Bolden described as "a peck basket of California oranges and grapefruits".

Wake-up calls

NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during theProject Gemini,and first used music to wake up a flight crew duringApollo 15.Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.

Flight Day	Song	Artist/Composer
Day 2	"Liberty Bell March"	John Philip Sousa
Day 3	"Heart of Gold"	Neil Young
Day 4	"Stars and Stripes Forever"	John Philip Sousa

Gag photo

Gag photo of the STS-61-C crew

During the same session as the official crew photo, the NASA photographer took a gag photo of the STS-61-C crew with their heads and faces obscured by their helmets and visors.

See also

• List of human spaceflights
• List of Space Shuttle missions
• Space ShuttleColumbiadisaster

External links

• NASA mission summaryArchivedMarch 30, 2009, at theWayback Machine
• STS-61C Video HighlightsArchivedDecember 10, 2016, at theWayback Machine