At 6:28 a.m. EDT on Aug. 21, 1972, NASA's Copernicus satellite, the heaviest and most complex space telescope of its time, lit up the sky as it ascended into orbit from Launch Complex 36B at what is now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-science-news/50-years-ago-nasas-copernicus-set-the-bar-for-space-astronomy