STS-95 mission Commander Curtis Brown, left, and Payload Specialist John Glenn on the aft flight deck of Discovery during a press conference, Nov. 1, 1998. The mission was Glenn's return to space after 36 years. He had been the first American to orbit the Earth on board his Friendship 7 Mercury capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Now, at age 77, he became the oldest person to go into space. (NASA)