 Satcom-K1 is 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 |
| 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 | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | January 12, 1986, 11:55:00 (1986-01-12UTC11:55Z) UTC (6:55 am EST) |
| Launch site | Kennedy,LC-39A |
| Contractor | Rockwell International |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | January 18, 1986, 13:58:51 (1986-01-18UTC13:58:52Z) 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 | |
| |
 STS-61-C mission patch  Background:B. Nelson,Hawley andG. Nelson Foreground:Cenker,Bolden,Gibson andChang-Díaz | |
STS-61-C was 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 Center on 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, the secondAfrican-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 becomeAdministrators of NASA. STS-61-C was the last shuttle mission before theSpace ShuttleChallenger disaster, which occurred ten days after STS-61-C's landing.
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Robert L. GibsonSecond spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Charles Bolden First spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | George Nelson Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 Flight Engineer | Steven Hawley Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 3 | / Franklin Chang-DíazFirst spaceflight | |
| Payload Specialist 1 | Bill Nelson (U.S. Rep. D-FL) Only spaceflight Congressional observer | |
| Payload Specialist 2 | Robert J. Cenker Only spaceflight Sponsor:RCA | |
| Nelson was aDemocraticRepresentative fromFlorida acting as a congressional observer. He was the second sitting member of Congress in space. SenatorJake Garn (R-UT) had previously flown onSTS-51-D in the prior year. | ||
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Payload Specialist 2 | Gerard E. Magilton Sponsor:RCA | |
| Seat[1] | Launch | Landing |  Seats 1–4 are on the flight deck. Seats 5–7 are on the mid-deck. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gibson | ||
| 2 | Bolden | ||
| 3 | G. Nelson | Chang-Díaz | |
| 4 | Hawley | ||
| 5 | Chang-Díaz | G. Nelson | |
| 6 | B. Nelson | ||
| 7 | Cenker | ||
| Attempt | Planned | Result | Turnaround | Reason | Decision point | Weather go (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 Dec 1985, 7:00:00 am | Scrubbed | — | Weather | Technicians needed additional time to close out the orbiter's aft compartment.[2] | ||
| 2 | 19 Dec 1985, 7:55:00 am | Scrubbed | 1 day 0 hours 55 minutes | Technical | 19 Dec 1985, 7:54 am (T−00:00:14) | The right SRB's Hydraulic Power Unit displayed an out-of-tolerance turbine reading. | |
| 3 | 6 Jan 1986, 7:05:00 am | Scrubbed | 17 days 23 hours 10 minutes | Technical | 6 Jan 1986, 7:04 am (T−00:00:31) | Countdown was held at T−02:55 due to a LOX fill and drain valve not closing.[3] The countdown stopped at T−31 seconds when a liquid oxygen replenish valve failed to close.[4] | |
| 4 | 7 Jan 1986, 7:05:00 am | Scrubbed | 1 day 0 hours 0 minutes | Weather | 7 Jan 1986, 9:33 am (T−00:09:00 hold) | Bad weather at transoceanic abort landing sites.[5] | |
| 5 | 9 Jan 1986, 7:05:00 am | Scrubbed | 2 days 0 hours 0 minutes | Technical | 8 Jan 1986, 7:05 am | Problem with SSME prevalve.[6] | |
| 6 | 10 Jan 1986, 6:55:00 am | Scrubbed | 0 days 23 hours 50 minutes | Weather | 10 Jan 1986, 8:45 am (T−00:09:00 hold) | Heavy rainfall in KSC area.[7] | |
| 7 | 12 Jan 1986, 6:55:00 am | Success | 2 days 0 hours 0 minutes | Total turnaround time 25 days.[2] |
STS-61-C sawColumbia return 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 International inCalifornia. Most notable of these modifications was the addition of the SILTS (Shuttle Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing) pod atopColumbia's vertical 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 onColumbia for 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 displays for the commander and pilot were installed.[8]
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,[9] was terminated at T−31 seconds because of a problem in a valve in theliquid oxygen system. 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.[10] 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.[2]
After four unsuccessful launch attempts,[11]Columbia launched successfully from Kennedy Space Center at 6:55:00 a.m.EST on 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 satellites owned and operated byRCA Americom; the deployment was successful.Columbia also carried a large number of small scientific experiments, including 13Getaway Special (GAS) canisters devoted to investigations involving the effect ofmicrogravity on materials processing,seed germination,chemical reactions, egg hatching,astronomy,atmospheric physics, and an experiment designed by Ellery Kurtz and Howard Wishnow of Vertical Horizons* 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 suspension bysound 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 oxygen onultraviolet optics 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 Comet through 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 Force during the mission. Bolden was only told that it was a prototype for aninfrared imaging camera.[11]
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.[11] 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.
Columbia finally landed at Edwards Air Force Base on its fifth landing attempt[11] at 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 theChallenger disaster, 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.[12]
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 "basket of California oranges and grapefruits".[11]
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.[13]
| 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 |
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.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.Space ShuttleColumbia (OV-102) | ||
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