The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a mission in Earth orbit.

Partially framed by Florida foliage, the space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott E. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA