The Space Shuttle Endeavour slices through the night, hurtling skyward from Launch Pad 39B at 4:41:00.072 am EST, January 11. The nearly on-time launch of Mission STS-72 kicks off the 1996 Shuttle launch schedule. On board Endeavour are a crew of six: Commander Brian Duffy; Pilot Brent W. Jett; and Mission Specialists Dr. Daniel T. Barry, Leroy Chiao, Winston E. Scott, and Koichi Wakata, who represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. During their planned nine-day mission, the crew will retrieve the Japanese Space Flyer Unit (SFU), deploy and later retrieve the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-Flyer (OAST-Flyer), and conduct two extravehicular activities (EVAs). STS-72 is the 74th Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of the orbiter Endeavour.