
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 5, 1991                   TAG: 9104050734
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.                                LENGTH: Short

SHUTTLE TAKES OBSERVATORY INTO SPACE

Atlantis thundered into space today with five astronauts and an immense observatory that will stalk the hottest, most powerful rays in the heavens.

Spewing flame from twin booster rockets, the shuttle roared from its seaside launch pad at 9:23 a.m. EST. It cleared the tower and immediately began turning to head out in the right direction over the Atlantic Ocean.

The sky was cloudy after a morning of rain. The weather made the launch five minutes late.

The rockets burned for two minutes and dropped empty into the Atlantic about 130 miles downrange, where ships were supposed to be waiting to pick them up. The 100-ton shuttle continued upward on the thrust of its three main engines.

The main event of the flight, which will last five days, is the release of the Gamma Ray Observatory. Mission commander Steven Nagel and his crew of four will place the spacecraft in a 279-mile-high orbit on Sunday.

by CNB