OTD…Aug. 27 and STS-51I

#OTD in 1995, Endeavour launched on the ASTRO-2 astronomy mission:

#OTD in 1982…Columbia launches on the fourth space shuttle mission. #OTD in 1995…Atlantis launches on first shuttle-Mir docking flight

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.