On this date: March 8

The final manned Mercury mission was launched atop an Atlas rocket on this day in 1963 with Gordon Cooper aboard Faith 7 for a 34-hour, 22-orbit flight.

#OTD…in 1996, Atlantis launched to Russia’s space station Mir

#OTD…Launch of Atlantis in 1989 to send the Magellan space probe to Venus