Star Trek debuted in September 1966 and in its various incarnations,
the series has been an inspiration to many, even some of us at NASA. The series allowed its fans to explore “strange new worlds” and to dream of what could be right in their living rooms. To celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, we’ve collected some Trek-themed photos featuring Star Trek cast members and NASA astronauts.
Serious Business
The STS-54 crew of the space shuttle Endeavour in their official “gag” photo are costumed as the bridge crew of the Enterprise as depicted in the movie “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” The photo was taken on the Star Trek Adventure set of the Universal Studios California theme park in Los Angeles, California, while the crew was on a west coast training and public relations tour during the Summer of 1992. From left to right:
Mario “Spock” Runco Jr. (Mission Specialist/1st Officer/Science Officer)
John Casper (Commander/Captain)
Susan Helms (Mission Specialist/Communications Officer)
Don McMonagle (Pilot/Navigation-Helm Officer)
“I have been, and always shall be, your friend”
Astronaut John Creighton shows the on board Graphical Retrieval Information Display (GRID) computer, which displays a likeness of Mr. Spock aboard STS-051G, June 18, 1985.
“A Keyboard… How Quaint”
Actor James Doohan (who played engineering genius Montgomery Scott in Star Trek) sits in the commanders seat of the Full Fuselage Trainer while astronaut Mario Runco explains the control panel during a tour of Johnson Space Center on Jan. 18, 1991.
“You Wanted Excitement, How’s Your Adrenaline?”
Actress Nichelle Nichols (Uhura in Star Trek) toured Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 4, 1977, while Apollo 12 lunar module pilot and Skylab II commander Alan Bean showed her what it felt like inside the Lower Body Negative Pressure Device and showed her how the Shuttle Procedures Simulator operated.
Nichols paid us another visit in 2012 and 2015 with the Space Traveling Museum.
Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combinations
European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti gave the Vulcan salute aboard the International Space Station shortly after the passing of Leonard Nimoy on Feb. 28, 2015. She commented on Tweeter: “ ‘Of all the souls I have encountered.. his was the most human.’ Thx @TheRealNimoy for bringing Spock to life for us”
Live Long And Prosper
While visiting Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, George Takei (Hikaru Sulu on the original series) had the chance to exchange Vulcan salutes with Robonaut on May 29, 2012.
“Let’s See What’s Out There”
Scott Bakula, who played Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise, stands with astronauts Terry Virts and Mike Fincke on set. The two astronauts made guest appearances on the series finale episode “These Are The Voyages …” March 2005.
Boldly Going For Real
Above is the crew of STS-134, the next to last shuttle mission, in their version of the 2009 Star Trek movie poster.
The crew of Expedition 21 aboard the International Space Station also made a Trek-themed poster in 2009, wearing uniforms from Star Trek: The Next Generation with the Enterprise NX-01 silhouette in the background.
After writing 9/10th of the chapter in a week, I the had to put it aside for work and PTA and now I can’t remember where I am or what came next or how much more there is. Loss of momentum is a terrible thing.
LAST MOVIE YOU SAW: Hell or High Water, which I wasn’t going to see in the theaters because I generally for character dramas to come out on BluRay so I can see them in my jammies at home. But I’m so glad I did. There was something sweeping about the cinematography and performances that played better on the big screen.
LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO:Troy by Sinead O’Conner the remix from Barcelona Nights. I LOVE THIS VERSION!
LAST SHOW YOU WATCHED: Stranger Things. I really loved it. Made it easier to wait for the multiple shows I binge-watched and have been waiting on, and that cast was amazing, all those kids! Plus I can just imagine the talk around the casting table: “yeah, we’re going to do this show that’s set in the 80s…hey, you know what would be funny? We should cast as the lead an actress who was really famous in the 80s!
LAST BOOK YOU READ: The Plot Whisperer. Though I only read certain parts.
LAST THING YOU ATE: does rum count?
IF YOU COULD BE ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW, WHERE WOULD YOU BE: Yosemite National Park. The answer to this question is always Yosemite National Park, preferably somewhere on the North Rim.
WHERE WOULD YOU TIME TRAVEL TO: Hmmm. Well, with the stipulation that wherever I went in history I’d have to be fairly high ranking so I had at least a few rights as a woman. Maybe 4-500 BC in Britain of France so I cou;d get firsthand experience in a Celtic pre-Christian culture. And then I’d want to come back before I died early of a completely curable disease.
FIRST THING YOU WOULD DO WITH LOTTERY MONEY: Set up a fund that would pay me an annuity so I didn’t have to work and could volunteer or work at non-profits for way less and still keep my house/girl’s schools etc. Boring, but I don’t have big needs, I’m just getting tired. And if there was there was any left over I’d buy a piece of land on San Juan Island with a view of Mt. Baker
FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU WOULD HANG OUT WITH FOR A DAY: Well, probably Elizabeth Bennett. Though at the moment GBP is watching Arthur and Hobson is cracking me the fuck up, so right now I want to hang with him.
Since I can’t really post any more snippets from Cleaving right now, here’s a mood board for the chapter I’m currently writing
Reblogging as basically today’s Few Words Wednesday…but without words. Well, with very few words (Buon Natale!). Chris is adding extra cheese to the pasta in that last one.
Just a flash flooding alert, we get lots of severe weather alerts around here. There’s always text with it too (on the tv anyway), I just can’t understand why the audio is always breaking up and staticky like a terrible radio signal. Like, where is it issued from that it’s so bad?
Yeah, and they always start with that strange dial tone, but I figure that’s just to get attention. Glad you’ll be okay. we’re obviously taking flooding seriously these days
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