STS-72 Day 1 Highlights

On Thursday, January 11, 1996, 6:30 a.m. CST, STS-72 MCC Status Report # 01 reports:

Endeavour lit up the Florida sky as it rocketed into orbit at 3:41 a.m. CST today on a Japanese satellite retrieval mission. The launch was delayed 23 minutes due to communication configuration problems between the Mission Control Center in Houston and ground control stations near the launch site. The problems were quickly resolved and Endeavour embarked on its 10th flight and the first flight of the new year. Today's launch also marked the 74th shuttle launch in the program's history.

At launch time, the Japanese Space Flyer Unit satellite was over central Australia, about 7,961 nautical miles ahead of Endeavour. The six member crew is expected to grapple and capture the satellite early Saturday morning.

Once on orbit, the astronauts began to configure Endeavour for on-orbit operations. The shuttle's payload bay doors were opened about 90 minutes into the flight, followed by a 'go' for on-orbit operations from flight director Jeff Bantle.

During the nine day mission, the international crew will retrieve the SFU, a science satellite launched by the Japanese last March. Additionally, the crew will deploy and retrieve a second spacecraft carrying NASA-sponsored experiments. Later in the mission crew members Dan Barry, Leroy Chiao and Winston Scott, will conduct two six-hour spacewalks to test tools and procedures that will be used in the assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station.

The astronauts will begin an eight-hour sleep period at 11:11 a.m. CST, and will receive a wake-up call from Mission Control at 7:11 p.m. today to begin their first full day on orbit. All systems on board Endeavour are performing well with the shuttle traveling around the Earth in a 246 x 95 nautical mile orbit.

On Thursday, January 11, 1996, 5 p.m. CST, STS-72 MCC Status Report # 02 reports:

After a flawless launch, Endeavour is well on its way toward the first primary objective of its flight -- the retrieval on Saturday of the Japanese Space Flyer Unit satellite and its cargo of long-term space experiments.

The crew -- Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Brent Jett and Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao, Winston Scott, Koichi Wakata and Dan Barry -- set up shop in orbit early today and checked out systems that will be used during the SFU retrieval. Wakata put the shuttle's mechanical arm through its paces in a thorough check out, finding all of the equipment in good shape. Duffy checked out the aft cockpit controls he will use to rendezvous with the satellite and found them ready and able as well.

The crew also activated many of the secondary experiments aboard Endeavour, including the Get-Away Special packages in the cargo bay, the Shuttle Laser Altimeter and the Commercial Protein Crystal Growth. Duffy also completed the first in the series of engine firings that, during the next two days, will culminate in Endeavour's rendezvous with the SFU.

The small engine firing slightly raised the low point of Endeavour's orbit, adjusting the rate at which the shuttle is closing in on the satellite. At 5 p.m. CST, Endeavour was trailing the SFU by about 8,100 nautical miles, continuing to close in at a rate of more than 750 nautical miles with each 90 minute orbit of Earth.

The crew began an eight-hour sleep period at 11:11 a.m. CST and will awaken for Day 2 of STS-72 at 7:11 p.m. CST. The Johnson Space Center newsroom will be closed from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. CST today. Mission commentary on NASA Television will resume at crew wakeup.

Go to STS-72 Flight Day 2 Highlights: