New Star Trek Movie Beamed Up to Space Station
Written by Nancy Atkinson
A future space station from Star Trek, Credit: Paramount
In a convergence of science fiction and current technology, the new Star Trek movie has been "beamed up" to the International Space Station so the three occupants can watch it while orbiting 220 miles above Earth. Paramount sent a copy of the movie to NASA's Mission Control, which then uplinked the movie to the International Space Station. The crew plans to watch the film on a laptop computer in the Unity module.
On board the station are NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, Russian cosmonaut and expedition commander Gennady Padalka, and astronaut Koichi Wakata from Japan.
"I remember watching the original Star Trek series and, like many of my NASA co-workers, was inspired by the idea of people from all nations coming together to explore space," Barratt said in a statement provided by Paramount. "Star Trek blended adventure, discovery, intelligence and story telling that assumes a positive future for humanity. The International Space Station is a real step in that direction, with many nations sharing in an adventure the world can be proud of."
Watching movies is one of the favored off-duty pastimes for ISS crews. There is a collection of DVDs and uplinked movies aboard the space station, some of which were delivered during previous shuttle and station missions and which will remain aboard for the enjoyment of future crews.
It's not even the first time Star Trek has screened in space: Former station astronaut Greg Chamitoff and his crewmates viewed the entire Star Trek series as a regular weekly event.
Of course, if you want to see the new Star Trek movie, you don't have to travel to the ISS; it's now playing at movie theaters and IMAX screens. Check your local listings!
Source: SciFi Wire
Filed under: Space Station
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May 16th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Hope they enjoy it as much as i did last tuesday!
May 25th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Sssssh – nobody tell the MPAA! I hope that that next Shuttle flights have this capability.