OTD…April 29 and STS-51B

#OTD in 1985…Discovery launched to deploy three satellites and rendezvous with another for daring repair

#OTD in 1996…Columbia launched on a life sciences and microgravity flight.

America’s first space shuttle launched on this day 35 years ago as the reusable flying machine, Columbia, lifted off from Kennedy Space Center with John Young and Bob Crippen aboard.