posted 09-16-2025 11:11 AM               

Redford is probably best known for his starring roles in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting" and "All the President’s Men." For the purposes of this site, his only space-related credit was the narrator of "Cosmic Collisions," a 2006 planetarium show that was produced by the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with NASA.

Outside of his on screen work, Redford was an early addition to the list of celebrities and other VIPs who wanted to fly on the space shuttle as part of NASA's Citizens in Space, according to Alan Ladwig, who headed the project at the agency's headquarters.

...his task force was done because Jim [James M.] Beggs, the [NASA] Administrator, got tired of getting calls and letters from self-proclaimed VIPs [very important people] that thought they should get to fly on the Shuttle. There had been articles in Parade magazine, Omni [science fiction] magazine or others. NASA has a list. [Actors] Jane Fonda and Robert Redford were on the list.

And then there is the late astronaut Jon McBride, who credited Redford's role in "The Natural" with helping get his first spaceflight assignment...