The Space Shuttle Endeavour embarks on NASA's longest Shuttle flight to date, carrying a complement of unique telescopes that will give astronomers a view of the universe impossible to obtain from the ground. Endeavour's liftoff from Launch Pad 39A occurred at 1:38:13 a.m. EST, March 2. Mission STS-67 is commanded by Stephen S. Oswald; William G. Gregory is the pilot; Tamara E. Jernigan is payload commander; Wendy B. Lawrence is a mission specialist and flight engineer; John M. Grunsfeld also is a mission specialist; and Samuel T. Durrance and Ronald A. Parise are the payload specialists. Endeavour's mission is scheduled to last 15 days, 13 hours, allowing the crew to conduct around-the- clock observations with the Astro-2 observatory, a trio of telescopes designed to study the universe of ultraviolet astronomy. Because of Earth's protective ozone layer, ultraviolet light from celestial objects does not reach ground-based telescopes, and such studies can only be conducted from space. The 68th flight of the Space Shuttle program -- the eighth for Endeavour -- is scheduled to conclude with a landing at the Kennedy Space Center.
