On October 29, 1998, Space Shuttle Discovery rose from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-95. Aboard was John Glenn, then 77, who thirty-six years earlier had been the first American to orbit the Earth and who became the oldest person to fly in space. The nine-day flight carried research on spaceflight and the aging process, which makes today’s anniversary a neat pairing of science, technology, and a very public spectacle. From the NASA Image and Video Library (image KSC-98pc1452), public domain.