ISS Astronauts Getting Super Bowl Beamed to Space

Imagine watching the Super Bowl while floating 250 miles above Earth, circling the planet at 17,500 miles per hour.

That's exactly what three astronauts aboard the International Space Station will do this Sunday. NASA's mission control in Houston plans to beam Super Bowl LX directly to the orbital laboratory so the crew can catch the Seattle Seahawks versus New England Patriots showdown.

The space station's current skeleton crew includes NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev. They've been holding down the fort since January, when SpaceX had to evacuate four crew members in the first-ever medical emergency return from the station.

"If they'd like to watch the Super Bowl, we'll give them that chance," said Dina Contella, Deputy Manager for NASA's International Space Station Program. The agency will record the game and play it back if any critical space station operations overlap with game time.

There's just one catch: kickoff happens at 11:30 p.m. in space station time. The ISS operates on Coordinated Universal Time instead of any single country's time zone, so the astronauts are in for a late night of football.

Why This Inspires

This story captures something beautifully human about space exploration. Even 250 miles above Earth, moving faster than a speeding bullet, astronauts still want to share in moments that bring people together back home.

Around 200 million fans across 130 countries will tune in Sunday, and three of them will be watching from the most exclusive viewing location imaginable. The International Space Station happens to be roughly the size of an entire NFL football field, making it the perfect venue for this cosmic watch party.

Williams might have mixed feelings about which team to root for. Born in New York City but educated at Stanford University near the game's Santa Clara location, he's got connections to both coasts. His Russian crewmates might not follow American football as closely, but they're free to pick a side and join the fun.

It's a small gesture that reminds us how technology keeps us connected no matter where we are, even in the final frontier.