(NBCNEWS) — NASA has confirmed reports that space officials discussed putting Big Bird on the space shuttle Challenger, before it was lost along with its entire crew in an explosion in 1986. But the space agency said the plan never got to the point of giving Caroll Spinney, the human who portrays the 8-foot-2 bird on the “Sesame Street” TV show, a spot on the passenger list.
The decade-old tale came up again in reference to a newly released documentary, “I Am Big Bird,” which traces Spinney’s career and personal life. Spinney refers to the spaceflight angle in the film, and in many of the interviews that he’s given about the film.
“I once got a letter from NASA, asking if I would be willing to join a mission to orbit the Earth as Big Bird, to encourage kids to get interested in space,” Spinney recalled last month in an essay published by The Guardian. “There wasn’t enough room for the puppet in the end, and I was replaced by a teacher.”
