STS-61-C was the twenty-fourth mission of the Space Shuttle, and the seventh mission of Columbia. It was the first time Columbia flew since STS-9. A seven-person crew, it carried the first African-American pilot (future NASA administrator Charles Bolden), as well as the first Costa Rican astronaut (Franklin Chang-Diaz) and the second sitting politician to fly in space (Rep. Bill Nelson). It was the last flight before the Space Shuttle Challenger ...
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STS-61-C was the twenty-fourth mission of the Space Shuttle, and the seventh mission of Columbia. It was the first time Columbia flew since STS-9. A seven-person crew, it carried the first African-American pilot (future NASA administrator Charles Bolden), as well as the first Costa Rican astronaut (Franklin Chang-Diaz) and the second sitting politician to fly in space (Rep. Bill Nelson). It was the last flight before the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which occurred just ten days after STS-61-C's landing.
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...
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