At 7:35 a.m. EST on January 9, 1990 the Space Shuttle Columbia roars aloft from KSC's Pad 39-A into the Florida skies. During the ten-day STS-32 mission, the five-member crew is scheduled to deploy the SYNCOM IV-5 military communications satellite and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility. STS-32 marks the 33rd Shuttle mission since flight operations began in 1981. Crew members are: Commander Daniel C. Brandenstein; Pilot James D. Wetherbee; and Mission Specialists Marsha S. Ivins, G. David Low, and Bonnie J. Dunbar, STS-32 was the 33rd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the 9th launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. STS-32 marked the first use of Launch Pad A at Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39 since 1986; it also marked the first use of Mobile Launcher Platform No. 3 (MLP-3) in the Space Shuttle program. On January 20, 1990, STS-32 executed the third night landing of the shuttle program.