NASA is making sure the three people on the International Space Station won’t miss the Super Bowl. The space agency confirmed it will send the Super Bowl LX broadcast directly to the crew in orbit. This is great news for the small team, who will watch the game while traveling 250 miles above Earth at 17,500 mph.
The Super Bowl draws around 200 million fans who watch from 130 countries around the world. It’s almost like a national holiday in the United States, so it makes sense that the crew on the ISS can join in too. Super Bowl LX will feature the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks against the AFC Champion New England Patriots. The game is set for Sunday, February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET.
According to Space.com, life on the space station runs on Coordinated Universal Time, which doesn’t follow any single country’s time zone. This means the astronauts won’t see the kickoff until 11:30 PM their time. That’s a tough schedule for watching a championship game, but they’ll likely stay awake for it.
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The space station crew faces a late-night viewing schedule
The crew right now has just three people: NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and two Russian cosmonauts, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev. The station is down to this small crew because SpaceX Crew-11 had the first-ever medical evacuation last month, bringing four other crew members back to Earth on January 15.
NASA’s mission control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston is managing the work of getting the game feed to orbit. Dina Contella, the Deputy Manager for NASA’s International Space Station Program, spoke about this during a January 30 press briefing. Contella said, “If they’d like to watch the Super Bowl, we’ll give them that chance.” The NFL season has seen its share of controversies, including when a Vikings announcer stepped down following controversy.
Contella also mentioned the option of recording the event. She noted, “We’ll have to see how that overlaps, and if there’s any critical events for ISS, but certainly we could record it and if necessary, play it back.” This backup plan makes sense since station operations can’t be put at risk for a football game. Christopher Williams has connections to both coasts, having been born in New York City.
However, he got his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Palo Alto, which is very close to Santa Clara where the game will be played. The two Russian cosmonauts might not follow American football closely, but they can still pick a team and enjoy watching. While player movements have dominated headlines, including Hollywood Brown’s recent comments about his trade, the focus now shifts to the championship game. For viewers on Earth, the game will air on NBC and stream on Peacock.
Published: Feb 8, 2026 02:30 pm