This flight of "Columbia" was originally scheduled to occur in August 1985, but the timeline slipped. In July 1985 the payload was finalized to include the RCA satellite, and Cenker was assigned to the mission, now designated as STS-61-C. Magilton was assigned as the back-up.Prior to its successful launch, "Columbia" had several aborted launch attempts, including one on January 6 which was "one of the most hazardous in the shuttle’s operational history" to that point, as well as a near-catastrophic abort three days later. Referring to the January 9 abort, pilot Charlie Bolden later stated that it “...would have been catastrophic, because the engine would have exploded had we launched.” 