MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-67 Status Report #1

Thursday, March 2, 2:30 a.m. CST

Endeavour began what is planned to become the longest shuttle flight
in history with a flawless liftoff at 12:38 a.m. central today.

The crew -- Commander Steve Oswald, Pilot Bill Gregory, Payload
Commander Tammy Jernigan, Mission Specialists John Grunsfeld and Wendy
Lawrence, and Payload Specialists Sam Durrance and Ron Parise -- are
now setting up shop in orbit for 15 and a half days of astronomical
observations. The ASTRO-2 package of telescopes in Endeavour's cargo
bay will be operated around the clock during the flight, peforming
ultraviolet observations hoped to add to scientists' understanding of
the universe's history and the origins of stars.

The Blue Team of crew members -- Jernigan, Lawrence and Durrance --
will be on duty for the morning aboard the spacecraft while their
fellow crewmembers, called the Red Team, sleep. The Red crew members
will take over duties at about 10:52 a.m.

Endeavour is in excellent condition with no mechanical problems in an
orbit with a high point of 190 nautical miles and a low point of 188
nautical miles, completing one orbit every 91 minutes.

The Johnson Space Center Public Affairs newsroom will reopen at 8
a.m. central.
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