STS-72 was a space shuttle mission that launched on January 11, 1996, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The primary objective was to retrieve the Space Flyer Unit, a Japanese satellite, and conduct various scientific experiments in microgravity. The mission lasted 11 days and included five spacewalks. Astronauts Koichi Wakata and Daniel Barry performed the spacewalks to assist with the satellite retrieval and other tasks. STS-72 contributed valuable data to ongoing research in space science and technology.