SpaceXCrew-9 Manned Spacecraft Launched with Special Plush Toy

TapTechNews September 29th news, on September 28th Eastern Time in the US, the SpaceX Crew-9 manned spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and flew towards the International Space Station. In this mission, there is also a special zero-gravity indicator - a falcon baby plush toy named Aurora.

According to TapTechNews, Aurora is the mascot of the US astronaut Nick Hague, who first flew to the International Space Station with Hague on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2018, but was forced to make an emergency return to Earth due to a rocket failure. Five months later, Hague flew to the International Space Station again with Aurora and successfully completed the mission. This time, Hague and Aurora embarking on the space journey again also marks Hague's third flight to space.

In addition to Hague, the Russian astronaut Alexander Golubev also took the SpaceX Crew-9 spacecraft.

Aurora is a falcon baby plush toy produced by the Puffkins company. The production of this toy started as early as 1994, but it has now been discontinued.

The tradition of bringing plush toys to space can be traced back to when the Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin first flew to space. In 1961, he carried a small doll on the Vostok spacecraft to observe the weightless state. In 1991, this doll was brought to the Mir space station to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Gagarin's flight.

Since then, many Russian astronauts have continued this tradition and brought their mascots to space.