JURASSIC FLIGHT

Astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken Bring Sparkly Dinosaur Aboard SpaceX Rocket

The pink and green reptile, which resembled a brontosaurus, began floating in zero gravity.

The two astronauts aboard the successful Saturday launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon rocket brought an unusual toy with them that might be mistaken for an extraterrestrial: a sequined dinosaur. The reptile appeared in the cockpit with Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken during the livestream of the launch, and it began floating when zero gravity set in. One Twitter user pointed out the sparkling toy resembled a product made by TY, the company that created Beanie Babies. A similar toy, used to indicate when zero gravity begins, flew with astronauts on a March 2019 SpaceX flight. The ship, the first spacecraft to launch astronauts from American soil in nearly a decade, is headed for the International Space Station. Astronauts often sneak personal mementos aboard spaceflights. In 2009, astronaut Mike Massimino brought the home plate from the New York Mets’ home stadium to the Hubble Telescope.