The maiden flight of Endeavour was a satellite-rescue mission to attach a kick motor to the stranded Intelsat 6-F3 commercial communications spacecraft. The first three-person spacewalk was performed to capture the satellite. Liftoff occurred at 7:40 p.m. on May 7, 1992, with commander Dan Brandenstein, pilot Kevin Chilton and mission specialists Pierre Thuot, Kathryn Thornton, Rick Hieb, Tom Akers and Bruce Melnick.