On this date…Second American in orbit

#OTD in 1994…Endeavour launched on the second Space Radar Laboratory mission

#OTD in 1988…Discovery returned Americans to space after the Challenger accident

The nearly $1.9 billion BepiColombo mission to Mercury jointly developed by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency lifted off Friday night from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Launch occurred at 9:45 p.m. EDT Friday (0145 GMT Saturday).