For John Glenn and crew -- today's the day

Glenn suits up for the launch

In this story:

• Today's schedule
• Famous and powerful flock to Florida for liftoff
• Crew says goodbye to friends, family
• 6 other astronauts, too
• Related links and stories

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- The weather is perfect, the crowds are building and the crew is ready for this afternoon's launch of space shuttle Discovery, a science mission overshadowed by the return to space of John Glenn who, 36 years ago, became the first American to orbit the Earth.

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The town that launched John Glenn

Launch workers began filling Discovery's huge external propellant tank at 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT). It was expected to take three hours to pump in more than 500,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, chemicals that energize the shuttle's main rocket engines at launch.

Later this morning, Glenn and the other six astronauts will be awakened and undergo a brief medical examination before sitting down to the traditional pre-launch breakfast of steak and eggs.

After that, they will climb into their orange space suits, board a van and ride out to the pad where a fueled and poised Discovery awaits them for a liftoff scheduled at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT).

Air Force weather officers say conditions couldn't be better, with clear skies and gentle breezes the order of the day for Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

Recreational vehicles and cars have jammed roads and areas around the space center, as campers and others gather for a good view of the launch.

Glenn, at 77, will become the oldest space traveler, following months of painstaking planning, tough training and hyperventilating hype, none of it dampened, apparently, by questions about his usefulness on the mission.

He was the first American in orbit in 1962, on the third U.S. manned mission, and returns to space on the nation's 123rd manned mission.

The STS-95 crew sits for breakfast at Kennedy Space Center Thursday morning

About 250,000 people have converged on Florida's Space Coast to catch a glimpse of the liftoff.

Some 3,500 journalists are on hand, and celebrities and politicians, including President Clinton, are also expected by launch time.

Published reports say that actors Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruce Willis all plan to attend, although none are on NASA's official 22-page list of celebrities. Singer Jimmy Buffett is writing a story about the launch for Rolling Stone magazine.

"I love a great show. This is a great show. This is the circus coming to town and it's great to see (Glenn) do that," Buffett said.

On Wednesday, Glenn and the other astronauts stood near their launch pad, waving and shouting to relatives and friends who were kept 20 feet away to prevent the crew from catching a cold. Fourteen busloads of people traveled to the pad for the goodbye ceremony.

"A little different trip this time," Glenn called out in response to a question.

Back in 1962, Glenn was in orbit for just five hours before returning to the bonds of Earth. This time around, the mission lasts for nine days, giving the senator plenty of time for sightseeing out of Discovery's windows.

Also on Wednesday, the crew members went through some flight training, attended a briefing and were given some time to relax. After dinner and bidding farewell to their spouses, lights out was at 11:30 p.m.

Shuttle Discovery on the launch pad

Somewhat overshadowed by the hoopla over Glenn are the six other members of the crew, which includes four other Americans and one astronaut each from Japan and Spain.

In addition to Glenn, the crew includes Curtis Brown Jr., the commander; pilot Steven Lindsey; mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson and Pedro Duque; and payload specialist Chiaki Mukai.

During Discovery's mission the crew of seven will perform 83 scientific experiments and release the Spartan satellite for two days of solar studies.

Reuters contributed to this report.