STS-75 Mission Control Status Report # 1
5:30 p.m. CST, Thursday, Feb. 22, 1996

Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off on time at 2:18 p.m. CST today,
beginning a two-week mission of scientific experimentation.

An erroneous reading on some engine performance indicators added some
temporary excitement to an otherwise normal launch today.  About four
seconds after liftoff, Shuttle Commander Andy Allen reported that his
instruments showed that one of the shuttle main engines was operating
at only 45% of its normal power level.  Flight controllers in Houston
quickly responded that all engines were performing nominally.  The
engines throttled as expected about 1 minute into the launch, and
operated normally all the way to main engine cutoff at 8 and a half
minutes into the flight.  Engineers will look at data from the launch
to try to understand the faulty reading.

A brief firing of the orbital maneuvering engines halfway around the
Earth placed Columbia in its operating orbit on time.  The
seven-member crew got a go for orbit operations as expected and opened
the payload bay doors to begin cooling with the radiators.

Just before 5 p.m. Central time, astronauts Claude Nicollier and
Franklin Chang-Diaz begin activating the support equipment for the
Italian Tethered Satellite System.  Other equipment and experiments
were scheduled for their first activation later today.  On Friday,
activities with the TSS begin in earnest leading up to Saturday's
reeling out of the tethered satellite.

Our next report will be issued Friday morning.