Buzz Lightyear going into space with NASA

[theresa]

Buzz Lightyear was destined to go into space, and guess what... He's gonna be on the next NASA mission flying on Space Shuttle Discovery as part of the Toys in Space programme being run by the space boffins at the moment.

When I say Buzz Lightyear, it's going to be the 12'' plastic toy version going up there. This all coincides with the opening of the fantabulous Toy Story Mania ride.

WDWNews have got a full story on this over on their site, but here's an excerpt anyhow.

Buzz will spend several months in space at the International Space Station (ISS) testing the limits of zero gravity before returning home to a hero’s welcome at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida later this year. While in space, Buzz will participate in an experiment flying in zero gravity and appear in a video downlink from the ISS.
The Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-124 will travel with seven astronauts to install Kibo’s large Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM) and the lab’s robotic arm system.