STS-61-C STS-61-C 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 space-rated Space Shuttle 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
Space Shuttle Pathfinder Space Shuttle Pathfinder The Space Shuttle Orbiter "Pathfinder" (unofficial Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-098) is a Space Shuttle test simulator made of steel and wood. Constructed by NASA in 1977 as an unnamed facilities test article, it was purchased in the early 1980s by the America-Japan Society, Inc. which had it refurbished, named it, and placed it on display in the Great Space Shuttle Exhibition in Tokyo. The mockup was later returned to the United States and placed on permanent display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in May 1988. Originally unnamed, the simulator was built at