ENDEAVOUR STARTS BUSY SHUTTLE YEAR

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

DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993                   TAG: 9301140333
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.                                LENGTH: Short
ENDEAVOUR STARTS BUSY SHUTTLE YEAR
Endeavour rocketed into space Wednesday on the year's first shuttle flight, and the five astronauts promptly released a communications satellite.
"There she goes!" crewman Mario Runco Jr. said as the satellite drifted from the cargo bay six hours into the mission.
The astronauts also planned a spacewalk and got a chance to use a new $23 million toilet.
NASA's newest shuttle lifted off its seaside pad into a hazy sky at 8:59 a.m., seven minutes late because of extra computer checks. The climb to orbit took the usual 8 1/2 minutes, and Endeavour soon was cruising 184 miles high.
"It's a good ride up, and Endeavour and the crew are glad to be back in space," commander John Casper reported.
The six-day mission is the third flight of Endeavour and the 53rd shuttle mission overall. NASA plans eight missions this year, the same as 1992, the busiest year since the Challenger disaster.
"We're off to a good start in 1993," said deputy shuttle director Brewster Shaw. "We're one for one on safe and successful launches and one for one on the date that we set at the flight readiness review."
The crew's first, and primary, task was to eject the $200 million Tracking and Data Relay Satellite from the cargo bay. Shortly after deployment, an attached rocket was fired and propelled the 2 1/2-ton satellite toward a 22,300-mile-high orbit.
Memo: NOTE: Longer version ran in New River

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB