STS-61-C was the twenty-fourth mission of
NASA's
Space Shuttle program, and the seventh mission of
Space Shuttle Columbia. It was the first time that
Columbia, the first operational orbiter to be constructed, had flown since
STS-9. The mission launched from
Florida's
Kennedy Space Center on 12 January 1986, and landed six days later on 18 January. STS-61-C's seven-person crew included the second
African-American shuttle pilot, future
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the first
Costa Rican-born astronaut,
Franklin Chang-Diaz, and the second sitting politician to fly in space,
Representative Bill Nelson (D-FL). It was the last shuttle mission before the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which occurred just ten days after STS-61-C's landing.