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Sts-61-c
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Mission insignia

Mission statistics
Mission:STS-61-C
Launch pad:39-A
Launch: January 12 , 1986 6:55:00 a.m. EST
Landing site: Edwards AFB
Landing: January 18 , 1986 5:58:51 a.m. PST
Duration:6 days, 2 hours
3 minutes, 51 seconds
Orbit altitude:212 nautical miles (393 km)
Orbit inclination:28.5 degrees
Distance traveled: 2,528,658 miles (4,069,481 km)
Crew photo

Back row L–R: Bill Nelson, Hawley, George Nelson,
Front row L–R: Cenker, Bolden, Gibson, Chang-Diaz
Previous mission:

STS-61-B 		Next mission:

STS-51-L


CREW



MISSION PARAMETERS



MISSION HIGHLIGHTS

Mission 24 in the Space Shuttle program saw the orbiter Columbia
returned to flight for the first time since the STS-9 mission in
November 1983, after having undergone major modifications by Rockwell
International in California.

The launch originally was scheduled for December 18 , but the closeout of
an aft orbiter compartment was delayed and the mission was
rescheduled for the next day on December 19 , the countdown was stopped at
T-14 seconds because of an out-of-tolerance turbine reading on the
right SRBs hydraulic system.

Another launch attempt on January 6 , 1986 , was terminated at T-31
seconds because a problem in a valve in the liquid oxygen system
could not be fixed before the end of the launch window. Other launch
attempts were made on January 7 , scrubbed because of bad weather at
contingency landing sites at Dakar, Senegal , and Morón, Spain ; on
January 9 , delayed because of a problem with a main engine prevalve; and
on January 10 because of heavy rain in the launch area.

The launch finally took place at 6:55 a.m. EST, on January 12 without further problems.

The primary objective of the mission was to deploy the Ku-1 communications satellite, second in a planned series of geosynchronous satellites owned and operated by RCA Americom. The deployment was successful and the satellite eventually became operational. The flight also carried a large number of small experiments, including 13 GAS canisters devoted to investigations involving the effect of microgravity on materials processing, seed germination, chemical reactions, egg hatching, astronomy and atmospheric physics. Other cargo included a Materials Science Laboratory-2 structure for experiments involving liquid bubble suspension by sound waves, melting and resolidification of metallic samples and containerless melting and solidification of electrically conductive specimens. Another small experiment carrier located in the payload bay was the Hitchiker G-1 (HHG-1) with three experiments to 1) study film particles in the orbiter environment, 2) test a new heat transfer system and 3) determine the effects of contamination and atomic oxygen on ultraviolet optics materials. There were also four in-cabin experiments, three of them part of the Shuttle Student Involvement Program.

Finally, an experiment called the Comet Halley Active Monitoring Program (CHAMP), consisting of a 35 mm camera to photograph Comet Halley through the aft flight deck overhead window, was not
successful because of battery problems.

Not only was the STS 61-C mission difficult to get off the ground, it proved to be difficult getting it back to Earth. It was originally scheduled to land on January 17 , but this was brought forwards one day because the delays of STS-61C were causing the next flight, STS-51L to be delayed. This landing attempt on January 16 was cancelled because of unfavorable weather at Edwards AFB. Continued bad weather forced another wave-off the following day, January 17 . The flight was extended one more day to provide for a landing opportunity at KSC on the January 18 — this in order to avoid time lost in an Edwards AFB landing and turnaround. However, bad weather at the KSC landing site resulted in still another wave-off.

Columbia finally landed at Edwards AFB at 5:59 a.m. PST, on January 18 .
Mission elapsed time was 6 days, 2 hours, 3 minutes, 51 seconds.

After numerous delays Columbia returned to orbit on January 12 , 1986 . The primary mission was to deploy a Geosynchronous KU-1 communications satellite for RCA Americom. A variety of other experiments were also performed successfully including some using the Materials Science Laboratory-2 . This was the first flight utilizing NASA's Get Away Special canisters. The mission is perhaps most notable for carrying Representative Bill Nelson , one of only three sitting congressmen who have been in space ( John Glenn and Jake Garn being the others). It was also the last successful Space Shuttle flight before the Challenger Disaster , as it occurred only 6 days later - in fact, seeing as the weather played a major part in the incident, it would be fair to say that the delays on STS-61C may have been partly to blame, as they added two days to the delayed launch of that flight.


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