Geek Trivia: All-stars in the sky

“Richard Branson, founder and head of the sprawling Virgin Group business empire, actually managed to increase his already formidable Q rating by appearing on a reality television show that described him (and itself) as the “The Rebel Billionaire.” So it should come as little surprise that it’s Branson’s Virgin Galactic that’s leading the marketing race to become the premier commercial space tourism outfit on planet Earth.

And, like all human ventures subjected to the whims of the open market, out-of-this-world publicity is sure to follow. After all, calling an operation that won’t even send its passengers into orbit a Galactic spaceflight system is like calling your company a worldwide distributor when the furthest you’ve ever sent your product is the house at the end of the block. (Branson has licensed the technology of Scaled Composites, based on that company’s suborbital SpaceShipOne that won the Ansari X Prize.)

Of course, the rich, the famous, and the publicity-desperate will likely be the first to shell out thousands of dollars to taste a few fleeting moments of space-borne microgravity. From the third group, we can expect a sizable number seeking to be the “first” of a certain category sent into space. In other words, they’ll be looking for trivial distinction.

Unfortunately, NASA has quietly beaten many potential record-holders to the punch. They just haven’t made a big deal about it….

Claiming to be the first of their ilk to experience zero gravity, as part of a Super Bowl promotion, two NFL players (and others) joined a flight on a steep-dive aircraft, similar to NASA’s microgravity-simulating “Vomit Comet.” Too bad nobody told them about a highly accomplished pro-athlete-turned-astronaut who had already seen orbit.

WHO WAS THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE IN SPACE?”

Full article: Geek Trivia: All-stars in the sky