There was a time when astronauts weren’t just explorers, they were icons and idols of our time. They had the roll of rockstars, the cool of pilots, and the daring of adventurers. They were the ones who treated outer space like the world’s biggest stage.
Cameras adored them, crowds swarmed them, and kids wanted to be them when they got older. Sometimes you think of astronauts and think quiet scientists in lab coats; but there’s nothing further from the truth, they were front-page celebrities who made physics look glamorous.
They did their job in the coolest way possible and carried themselves with the casual bravado of people who knew the world was watching. In short, they weren’t just reaching for the stars, they were the stars.
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Just like a walk to the stage, but into history.
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Winston Scott’s grin says it all, best gig ever.
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Custom hot-pink boots? Yes please.
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Forget tour buses, this is how it's done.
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Sally Ride had way more than stadium spotlights.
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The Apollo 1 crew suited up like a band about to drop their debut album.
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NASA's first six women astronauts, icons of their time.
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The Apollo 11 crew chilling in quarantine like rock gods backstage.
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Album cover energy. Space edition.
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Cold War rivals turned space bandmates.
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Mercury astronauts riding through cheering crowds like true celebs.
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First man on the Moon kind of smile.
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The stunts astronauts had to pull in zero gravity were next level cool.
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Rolling up like the Beatles on tour.
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Christmas in space just hits different.
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Lonnie Johnson serving inventor and rockstar cool.
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Casually fresh off the moon.
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Album cover material, Apollo-Soyuz style.
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Trashed hotel pools? No thanks, just moonwalks.
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Floating outside the spacecraft like a true rockstar.
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Basically an astronaut's costume change.
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Just like a mosh pit but in space.
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Space camp, but make it 1960s.