Astro-1 is another astronomy mission.

Seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia began an ambitious 10-day astronomy mission today after soaring into orbit early this morning.

The third attempt to send the shuttle on an astronomy mission was halted Wednesday after hydrogen flooded the compartment.

Columbia had been scheduled for launching early Wednesday on an astronomy mission with seven astronauts, including the oldest ever to venture into space.

The space shuttle Columbia glided back to earth late tonight, completing a troubled nine-day astronomy mission with a smooth landing at the desert airstrip here.

The Columbia's astronomy mission has been delayed four times, mostly because of the hydrogen leaks.

Columbia's astronomy mission, with a $150 million observatory called Astro-1, had already been delayed two weeks because of repairs to the shuttle's cooling system.

The failure forced ground controllers improvise a way of taking over the pointing of the astronomy mission's telescopes.

The space agency hopes to fly the Columbia's often-postponed astronomy mission in December if the source of the leaks can be found and fixed.

A20 The space shuttle Columbia lifted off into orbit to begin an ambitious 10-day astronomy mission.