Astronauts Report a Smooth Flight, Begin Their Experiments

Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia reported a trouble-free mission Saturday as they started many of the experiments that will be conducted during the 16-day flight, the second-longest ever.

Columbia, known as a temperamental orbiter on the ground but trustworthy in space, overcame six aborted launches to blast off Friday.

“I’m rather surprised and very happy that this first day has gone so well as it has,” said project scientist Martin Volz of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “We have almost no problems. We’re ahead of time in many cases.”

Early Saturday, the seven-member crew activated equipment that allowed it to see live scenes of Mission Control in Houston. Columbia pilot Kent Rominger said he could hear and see mission controllers very well.

The ground-to-air television links will allow scientists on Earth to see and monitor on-board experiments.

The communications links will also allow NASA officials to perfect the technology needed to send medical data and maintenance instructions to astronauts during future missions.

Also Saturday, astronauts began to grow some of the 800 crystals on board that could lead to better disease-fighting drugs and even such products as synthetic skin and corneas, NASA scientists said.