Columbia lifts off with STS-94 mission

KSC97070204 - 2 JULY 1997 - KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA, USA: The Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39A at 2:02 p.m. EDT .July 1 to begin the 16-day STS-94 Microgravity Science Laboratory-1(MSL-1) mission. The launch window was opened 47 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled time of 2:37 p.m. to improve the opportunity to lift off before Florida summer rain showers reached the space center. The crew members are Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr.; Pilot Susan L. Still; Payload Commander Janice Voss; Mission Specialists Michael L.Gernhardt and Donald A. Thomas; and Payload Specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. UPI jm/NASA