  This Special Issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters is dedicated to
presenting initial results from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey
(GOODS) that are primarily, but not exclusively, based on multi--band imaging
data obtained with the {\it Hubble Space Telescope} ({\it HST}) and the
Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The survey covers roughly 320 square
arcminutes in the ACS F435W, F606W, F814W, and F850LP bands, divided into two
well-studied fields. Existing deep observations from the {\it Chandra} X-ray
Observatory (\cxo) and ground-based facilities are supplemented with new, deep
imaging in the optical and near-infrared from the European Southern Observatory
(ESO) and from the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO). Deep observations
with the {\it Space Infrared Telescope Facility} (SIRTF) are scheduled. Reduced
data from all facilities are being released worldwide within three to six
months of acquisition. Together, this data set provides two deep reference
fields for studies of distant normal and active galaxies, supernovae, and faint
stars in our own galaxy. This paper serves to outline the survey strategy and
describe the specific data that have been used in the accompanying letters,
summarizing the reduction procedures and sensitivity limits.
