NASA gave a shoutout to Travis Kelce, who once portrayed astronaut in TV show
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NASA quoted Kelce’s 2010 moon tweet as Artemis II renewed moon interest.
- Kelce cameoed as himself on Moonbase 8; NASA noted the appearance.
- NASA’s astronaut height limit (5'11") would disqualify 6'5" Kelce.
Monday is a big day for the Artemis II crew, as their spacecraft will go behind the moon and lose radio contact with mission control in Houston.
Thanks to the Artemis mission, there has been a renewed interest in NASA, and that only increased this weekend. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s Twitter/X history is full of funny messages, and that includes one about the moon that caught the attention of NASA.
“The moon looks crazy tonight... Imma chill out here for a little and just visualize my success n vibe to the scenery,” Kelce wrote in 2010 when he was 20 years old.
Basking in the moonlight and visualizing his success apparently worked, because Kelce has become one of the greatest players in NFL history. And he’s engaged to superstar singer Taylor Swift.
NASA responded to that message nearly 16 years later, quoting a Swift lyric.
“It’s been a long time coming...” NASA wrote.
NASA has size requirements for astronauts that would keep the 6-foot-5 Kelce from going to space (can’t be taller than 5 feet, 11 inches). But he once portrayed an astronaut in the short-lived series “Moonbase 8.”
That starred John C. Reilly, Tim Heidecker and Fred Armisen as astronauts living in a simulated base to see if they would be picked for a lunar mission. To ramp up interest in the program, NASA had Kelce join the base.
Kelce plays a fictionalized version of himself, and he bullies Reilly’s character, who is both a little scared and in awe of the Chiefs tight end. Kelce only appears in the first episode, before he has a terrible accident.
X user Le Champagne shared clips of Kelce in the show, which was his first acting gig.
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 10:02 AM.
