posted 05-06-2024 07:15 PM               

'Sparkly' narwhal toy trades sea for space as Boeing Starliner zero-g indicator

What has one horn, two crewmates and shares a name with its ride into orbit?

"Calypso," the plush sequined narwhal that is flying with NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on the crew flight test (CFT) of "Calypso," Boeing's CST-100 Starliner commercial spacecraft. A toy-version of the deepest-diving marine mammal, it is soon to be the highest-flying example of its kind while serving as the crew's "zero-g indicator."