OTD…Aug. 27 and STS-51I

American and Soviet crews were launched today in 1975 for the first handshakes in space between the two superpowers as part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

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

Scott Carpenter launched atop an Atlas rocket to become the second American to orbit the Earth today in 1962, flying for 4 hours and 39 minutes aboard Aurora 7 while making three revolutions of the globe.