The sequined plush accompanied astronauts aboard NASA’s Crew Dragon.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched on Saturday from Cape Canaveral and was the first commercial spacecraft that has carried humans into space. The mission included a sequined dinosaur toy passenger, which joined the NASA astronauts onboard. Shortly after launch, the soft toy – a Ty Flippables Tremor Dinosaur – appeared floating around the cabin of the Crew Dragon in NASA’s live feed. A NASA commentator remarked: “Looks like we saw our zero-G indicator floating around there.”
Although many were surprised and amused to spot the dinosaur on board, It is not uncommon for a plush toy to accompany astronauts during launches, to help indicate when the spacecraft has reached zero gravity and astronauts are experiencing weightlessness.
The astronauts both have sons who were allowed to choose one of their toys to go into space and fulfil this important role, and the sequined apatosaurus was selected. Astronaut Bob Behnken commented: “That was a super cool thing for us to get a chance to do for both of our sons, who I hope are super excited to see their toys floating around with us on board.”
The Demo-2 mission was undertaken to show that SpaceX can transport astronauts to the International Space Station – and get them back – safely. It is the final step to allow SpaceX to become certified by NASA’s Commercial Crew programme for regular flights carrying astronauts to the International Space Centre.
The 6” dinosaur with blue/pink reversible sequins is a best-selling, yet retired line. Customers have already been trying to track down remaining stock or re-sale listings of the Flippable, and sellers on eBay have re-titled the item “SpaceX Ty Flippables Tremor Dinosaur Limited Edition” as a consequence. Whether this surge in interest results in the dinosaur being re-introduced into the Flippables range at a future date has not been confirmed by Ty, but it is surely a possibility?
Two humans (and one dinosaur) went to space today #SpaceX pic.twitter.com/U4CbHJShkw
— Brian Bosché (@BrianPBosche) May 30, 2020
