STS-95

{{Infobox spaceflight | name = STS-95 | names_list = Space Transportation System-95 | image = KSC-JohnGlenn-0016 (31144904130).jpg | image_caption = John Glenn in the Spacehab Single Module during flight | insignia = STS-95 Patch.svg | spacecraft = | mission_type = Bioscience researchAstronomy | operator = NASA | COSPAR_ID = | SATCAT = | orbits_completed = | distance_travelled = | mission_duration = 9 days, 19 hours, 54 minutes, 2 seconds | launch_mass = | landing_mass = | payload_mass = {Spacehab) | launch_site = Kennedy, LC-39B | launch_date =  UTC | landing_date =  UTC | landing_site = Kennedy, SLF Runway 33 | crew_size = 7 | crew_members = | crew_photo = STS-95 crew.jpg | crew_photo_caption = Top: Parazynski, Robinson, Mukai, Duque, Glenn; Bottom: Lindsey, Brown | apsis = gee | orbit_epoch = | orbit_reference = Geocentric | orbit_regime = Low Earth | orbit_periapsis = | orbit_apoapsis = | orbit_period = 96 min | orbit_inclination = 28.45 degrees | programme = Space Shuttle program | previous_mission = STS-91 (91) | next_mission = STS-88 (93) }} STS-95 was a Space Shuttle mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 29 October 1998, using the orbiter Discovery. It was the 25th flight of Discovery and the 92nd mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981. It was a highly publicized mission due to former Project Mercury astronaut and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr.'s return to space for his second space flight. At age 77, Glenn became the oldest person to go into space, a record that remained unbroken for 23 years until 82-year-old Wally Funk flew on a suborbital flight on Blue Origin NS-16, launching on 20 July 2021, which in turn was broken by William Shatner at age 90 on 13 October 2021 and then by Ed Dwight on May 19, 2024. Glenn, however, remains the oldest person to reach Earth orbit. This mission is also noted for inaugurating ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the U.S., with live coast-to-coast coverage of the launch. In another first, Pedro Duque became the first Spaniard in space.

The mission's objectives involved investigating life-sciences experiments, using the SpaceHab module to perform these experiments on Senator Glenn. Scientific objectives on this mission were not limited to furthering an understanding of the human body, but also to increase astronomical understanding with regard to the Sun, and how it affects life on Earth. The Spartan 201 spacecraft was released by the crew, flying free from the Shuttle, studying the acceleration of the solar wind that originates in the Sun's solar corona. The mission lasted just under ten days, with Discovery completing its voyage by landing at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility.