OTD…Aug. 2 and STS-43

The flight of Gemini 4 launched today in 1965 for NASA’s first Extra Vehicular Activity spacewalk by Ed White on a four-day orbital mission with commander Jim McDivitt.

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.

The first crew to inhabit Skylab — Conrad, Weitz and Kerwin — launched today in 1973 for a 28-day mission that successfully made critical repairs, brought the station into operation and conducted solar astronomy, Earth resources and medical experiments.