Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off for an eight-day mission to become a manned space telescope in Earth orbit, carrying the ASTRO-1 package designed to conduct X-ray and ultraviolet astronomy, mounted on an unmanned Spacelab pallet in the cargo bay. The mission has been delayed for months, most notably by hydrogen leaks detected long before the original May launch date. Manning Columbia for this flight are Commander Vance Brand, Pilot Guy Gardner, mission specialists Jeffrey Hoffman, John Lounge and Robert Parker, and payload specialists Samuel Durrance and Ronald Parise.
