We present a catalog of 138,665 radio sources derived from the initial
1550 deg(2) of the FIRST survey. The survey parameters are reviewed,
and a map depicting the coverage for the first two observing sessions
is presented. We then describe in detail our algorithm for radio sourc
e detection and parameterization, as well as our procedures for constr
ucting the final catalog. The results of extensive tests for astrometr
ic and photometric accuracy, as well as for uncertainties in source ex
tent and morphological characterization, are presented. Source positio
ns are all good to better than 1'', and the flux density scale is accu
rate to 5%; our elliptical Gaussian fitting procedure is shown both to
provide a high-fidelity representation of source morphology for most
objects and to characterize correctly bright sources extended on scale
s down to similar to 1/3 the synthesized beam size of 5.''4. We use th
e catalog to construct a log N-log S relation for 20 cm radio sources
over four decades of flux density, finding excellent agreement with pr
evious determinations from smaller surveys. As one example of the cata
log's utility, we present comparisons with the Guide Star Catalog, the
IRAS Faint Source catalog, and the ROSAT WGA catalog, identifying rad
io counterparts to thousands of the objects. Complete instructions for
access to this FIRST catalog and subsequent updates thereto are provi
ded.