Launch of Mission STS-73. Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Centre at the start of Mission STS-73 on October 20, 1995. The crew of seven consisted of K.D. Bowersox, commander; K.V. Rominger, pilot; K.C. Thornton, payload commander; M.E. Lopez-Alegria and C.G. Coleman, mission specialists; F.W. Leslie and A. Sacco Jr., payload specialists. The crew worked on United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) experiments in the shuttle's cargo bay. Fields of study included fluid physics, materials science, biotechnology, combustion science & commercial space processing techniques. Columbia returned safely on 5 November 1995.