OTD…Aug. 7 and STS-85

The U.S. launched its first man into space on this date, May 5, 1961, as Alan Shepard rode the Freedom 7 capsule on a 15-minute suborbital flight to 116.5 miles in altitude and 303 miles downrange to splashdown.

#OTD in 1985…Discovery launched to deploy three satellites and rendezvous with another for daring repair

#OTD in 1985…Discovery launched on the first classified space shuttle mission for the Department of Defense. Watch the liftoff: