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Space shuttle Endeavour launches on its maiden flight

On this day · 7 May 1992
40 sec read

NASA's newest orbiter flew for the first time on STS-49, a daring mission to rescue a stranded satellite by hand.

Verified · NASA

On May 7, 1992, at 7:40 p.m. EDT, Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on STS-49, its maiden flight. Built to replace Challenger, Endeavour was NASA’s youngest orbiter.

The mission’s goal was audacious: capture the stranded Intelsat VI (603) communications satellite, fit it with a new rocket motor, and send it on to its proper orbit. Two attempts to grab the satellite with a capture bar failed.

So NASA improvised. On the third try, three spacewalking astronauts — Pierre Thuot, Rick Hieb, and Tom Akers — seized the spinning satellite by hand, the first and only three-person spacewalk in history.

The nine-day flight also logged four spacewalks, more than any shuttle mission before it. Endeavour went on to fly 25 missions before retiring in 2011.

3
astronauts, one spacewalk
9
days in orbit
25
career missions

Sources & references

2 references

Well-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.

1 NASA Space agency “This week in 1992, STS-49 launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the first flight of the space shuttle Endeavour.” nasa.gov ↗
2 Spaceline — Titan I Fact Sheet reference “May 7, 1992 – 7:40:00 p.m. EDT... a third set of hands would help stabilize the satellite, allowing it to be captured; the third spacewalk was the first to involve three astronauts simultaneously.” spaceline.org ↗
✓ Last reviewed Jun 7, 2026

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