OTD…June 27 and STS-4 and STS-71

NASA’s Kepler planet-finder began its mission to discover Earth-like worlds orbiting other stars in the galaxy today in 2009, successfully launching aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

America’s first space shuttle launched on this day 35 years ago as the reusable flying machine, Columbia, lifted off from Kennedy Space Center with John Young and Bob Crippen aboard.

#OTD…The maiden launch of shuttle Endeavour in 1992 to rescue the Intelsat 603 satellite