Planet 51 film is orbiting the Earth

What better way to celebrate a space movie than … sending a movie into space?

A copy of Columbia Pictures’ animated comedy “Planet 51,” which comes to theaters Nov. 20, is currently orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station, according to a release.   The film was launched on the Space Shuttle Discovery on August 28, 2009.   A few days later, astronauts transferred the film to the space station.

The film is now cruising high above Earth at 17,500 miles per hour and orbiting the planet every 90 minutes.  As the release notes, 90 minutes is the running time of the film, so the space-bound copy of the movie will make a full Earth orbit as the movie premieres on the ground.

In a joint statement, producers Guy Collins and Ignacio Perez said:  “Planet 51 is a fun film for all the family and one of its strong messages, particularly for children, is to not be afraid of the unknown. That is what NASA has been showing the world for 50 years and I hope that our film will encourage children to increase their understanding of the Universe and NASA’s work.”