Posted by Ray Katz in current, history
Vintage Basketball to fly on Shuttle mission
Astronaut Grunsfeld: Bringing an old basketball on his May 12 shuttle flight.
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is named for a famous (well, for someone in his field) astronomer. But, what’s (even) less known about Edwin Hubble is his basketball career at the University of Chicago.
In fact, he was a star forward for two consecutive championship teams at the University of Chicago, in the early 1900s.
Now, an alumni of the same university will be bringing a century old basketball used in the championship game against Indiana University in 1909 into space. Astronaut John Grunsfeld will is bringing the ball, and he will repair the space telescope.
No word on whether or not he’ll also be re-inflating the basketball.
