OTD…Oct. 6 and STS-41

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 1997…Cassini was launched on its billion-mile trek to Saturn

#OTD in 1991, 1992 and 1993…flights by Discovery and Endeavour