The Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-67) embarks on NASA's longest shuttle flight to date, carrying a complement of unique telescopes that will give astronomers a view of the universe impossible to obtain from the ground. The 15-day mission will allow the crew to conduct round-the-clock observations with the ASTRO-2 observatory, a trio of telescopes designed to study the universe of ultraviolet astronomy. Because of Earth's protective ozone layer ultraviolet light from celestial objects does not reach gound-based telescopes, and such studies can only be conducted from space.
