Disney Vinylmation in Space: Vinylmation Figures Take a Long Journey Aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis
posted on April 29th, 2011 by Gary Buchanan, Social Media Managing Editor
When NASA astronaut Lt. Col. Virgil Ivan “Gus†Grissom carried the first memento into space when he took a roll of dimes with him on his Mercury flight in July 1961, he started a tradition at NASA that carries on 50 years later.
To celebrate and inspire exploration, NASA astronauts have carried items into space that they have a unique interest in – items that are then brought back to Earth and placed on display in hopes of inspiring future explorers and achievements.
Disney Parks was honored to be part of STS-132 in May 2010, aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the International Space Station (ISS). STS-132 Commander Ken Ham requested that two very special (and quite small) “guests†join the six-person crew on Atlantis’ 32nd flight – two 3-inch-tall
Vinylmation figures.
Commander Ham and his wife, Michelle, are avid athletes and runners who have participated in several endurance races in the “
runDisney†series. And with its proximity to Cape Canaveral,
Walt Disney World has been a vacation stop several times for the couple between missions.
(And here’s another fun fact: Commander Ham served as the Pilot of STS-124, the 2008 mission of Space Shuttle Discovery that had another Disney Parks “special guest†aboard – a 12-inch-tall Buzz Lightyear toy. Buzz, who always dreamed of going to “infinity and beyond,†spent more than 15 months aboard the ISS before returning to Earth and being feted with his very own ticker-tape parade in
Magic Kingdom Park. Joining Andy’s famed space ranger in the gala parade was legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin.)