Home •  Order EarthBalls  •  Inquiries •  Rentals •  About Us  •  About Inflatables •  Contact Us

EarthBalls in Space

In March of 1992 the NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched into orbit with seven astronauts & one inflatable EarthBall onboard.


During their 9 day mission, comprising 143 Earth orbits and 3.7 million miles, the crew of STS-45 deployed the Earthball as an assistant in filming the educational video "The Atmosphere Below."

EarthBall Aboard NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis

See EarthBalls Float Weightlessly in Space!

View three short clips at the Video Index page



EarthBall in Orbit

STS-45 Crew:
Commander: Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (Col., USMC)
Pilot: Brian Duffy (Lt. Col., ASAF)
Payload Commander: Kathryn D. Sullivan (Ph.D.)
Mission Specialist: David C. Leestma (Capt., USN)
Mission Specialist: C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.)
Payload Specialist: Byron K. Lichtenberg (Sc.D.)
Payload Specialist: Dirk D. Frimout (Ph.D.)



NASA Astronauts Film Weightless Earth Aboard Space Shuttle

Earth as Seen from the Moon



Think about the picture of the Earth coming up over the horizon of the Moon, which I call the picture of the century. Every crew that went to the Moon took that same picture. It is probably as moving as anything in reorienting people's idea to the whole world concept." Don L. Lind, USA, STS 51-B



Astronaut Susan Still with EarthBall

Astronaut Susan Still