The real star of the SpaceX launch was a sparkly stuffed dinosaur
The only thing cooler than humans going to space is humans going to space with an adorable stuffed animal.
On Saturday afternoon, NASA launched astronauts into space aboard the Crew Dragon, a spacecraft built by Elon Musk's company, SpaceX. The two NASA astronauts who launched into orbit were Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, but they didn't embark on their historic journey alone. They brought a sparkly stuffed dinosaur to keep them company.
Tweet may have been deletedSEE ALSO:SpaceX becomes first private company to launch NASA astronauts into space
Now, the two astronauts are cool as hell, obviously. But in some ways, this little stuffed pal was the star of the launch. The light bouncing off the dino's sequins really caught the camera, and when the spaceship reached zero gravity he slid out of his seatbelt and gracefully floated up towards the lens.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
To anyone wishing they could buy their very own replica of the stuffed dino that went into space, we have good news: You can!
SpaceX is, of course, selling sparkly Demo 2 Dinosaur Plush Toys for $25.00. But before you purchase one from there you might be interested to know that the SpaceX toy looks exactly — we're talking exactly — like a retired Beanie Baby. And you might be able to buy that one for less money.
What gives, SpaceX?
As The Verge noted, geophysicist Mika McKinnon identified the dino on Twitter earlier in the week, the day the mission would have originally launched if not for bad weather. It's called Tremor Dinosaur, and it's from the TY Flippables collection, which makes perfect sense because its sequins flip from blue to pink.
Tweet may have been deleted
Though you may no longer be able to acquire a Tremor Dinosaur plush from TY Inc., Joann Fabric and Learning Express stores appear to be selling them for only $9.99. (Michael's and Barnes & Noble also have some plushes available for purchase in select stores, but they seem to be sold out online.)
The toys also appear to be sold out on Amazon and Walmart, and snagging one on eBay seems like a bit of a stretch. (At one point the plush was selling on the site for $36.95. LOL.)
A few lucky people out there don't have to buy the plush dinos because they realized they already had family members of the space dino at home.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Though the idea of a stuffed animal accompanying astronauts might seem hilarious and odd for anyone new to launches, stuffed animals have been flying to space for years and they're not just on board to look cute. The plush toys can serve an important role in the flight, as they help indicate when the spacecraft has reached zero gravity and astronauts are experiencing weightlessness.
An Earth-shaped plush flew aboard the test flight of Crew Dragon in March 2019, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted a photo. And in a 2016 article, Mashable noted several other times when plushes accompanied astronauts.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Behnken, Hurley, and Tremor the plush dinosaur are expected to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. We eagerly await updates.
-
Venture Missionaries大额优惠券、限时秒杀!“疆品南下粤品北上”线上主平台伽师主题月福利送不停关于户型图的知识你了解多少Huawei's foldable phone may come with a more powerful chip and camera夜间献血模式“上线”Wolves pile on misery for spluttering Everton“我们姐妹要坐火车去成都”Ryzen 5 2600X vs. 2600: Which should you buy?[From the Scene] How ‘world’s first oil town’ is wrestling to become ‘green'Djokovic wants to coach after retirement
- ·We Bought the Cheapest DDR5 RAM Modules We Could Find, Are They Any Good?
- ·Facebook launches bug bounty program for Libra
- ·Apple Card is now available to everyone in the U.S.
- ·Moon says vaccinations 'faster than expected' as half of population gets first shots
- ·The local version of Project 2025 is already causing devastation.
- ·方向对了一路都是“坐票”
- ·1至9月 我市完成白蚁防治面积19.6万平方米
- ·The science that proves making your tea in the microwave is a truly appalling act
- ·New Grok response directs users to Vote.gov for election questions
- ·Twitter's Trust and Safety Council feels ignored if you can believe it
- ·New cases at over 2,000 again; toughest curbs likely to be extended
- ·How to Play Long Video Games When You Have No Time
- ·Footage of Kim Yo
- ·Sanctuary cities executive order ruled unconstitutional by appeals court.
- ·顾全大局 团结协作 为绿色发展示范市建设发挥更大作用
- ·加强市场卫生管理 提升城市文明气质
- ·Apple's iPhone 17 will come with a huge RAM upgrade, report claims
- ·危险!满载乘客的中巴连接轴损坏还跑得飞叉叉
- ·买房怎么看沙盘图?看沙盘图要注意什么?
- ·Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, US discuss humanitarian aid to N. Korea
- ·U.S. Senators call on FTC to investigate the security of drivers' data
- ·高速公路进出口违法掉头被处罚 心存不满网上辱骂交警被拘留
- ·Guy who posts billboards gets pranked with a billboard of his own face
- ·买房怎么看沙盘图?看沙盘图要注意什么?
- ·Value Judgment
- ·Apple Card is now available to everyone in the U.S.
- ·Who is the Dark Wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2?
- ·Pastors are getting in on Ring's ever
- ·Moon says vaccinations 'faster than expected' as half of population gets first shots
- ·Facebook's 'clear history' tool doesn't actually 'clear' anything
- ·NYT mini crossword answers for August 29
- ·San Antonio shark heist ends with rescue of Miss Helen.
- ·Facebook bans Romanian troll farm that ran fake pro
- ·Pastors are getting in on Ring's ever
- ·How to Backup Your Gmail Account
- ·Seoul urges Pyongyang to stop escalating tensions over Kim's pledge to bolster nuclear power