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ISS Astronaut Rocks 'Battlestar Galactica' Starbuck Cosplay in Orbit

Good news: The ISS crew hasn't spotted any Cylons.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti floats in front of ISS windows while dressed as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica.
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ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti floats in front of ISS windows while dressed as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is a big sci-fi fan. 

Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

Star Trek. Gravity. Battlestar Galactica. We've got an ace cosplayer up in space.

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is on her second visit to the International Space Station. She took time out of her science schedule to dress up as Starbuck from the Battlestar Galactica reboot and address the FedCon science fiction and fantasy convention. The astronaut beamed in over a monitor from her home in orbit.

FedCon took place in Germany in early June. On Thursday, ESA released a video of convention scenes and Cristoforetti's remarks to the crowd.

Katee Sackhoff portrayed ace space pilot Starbuck/Kara Thrace on screen in a gender-swapped role from the original 1970s series. Cristoforetti got the tank-top look spot on, and also wore a replica dog tag. "I haven't seen any Cylons up here yet," Cristoforetti reported, in a reference to the complex villains from the show.    

During her first ISS mission in 2015, Cristoforetti famously dressed up as Captain Janeway from Star Trek. She bonded with the character over a shared love of coffee. In June, we got to see her reenact a scene dressed as Sandra Bullock's Dr. Stone from the space thriller Gravity.     

Like many cosplayers, Cristoforetti relies on ingenuity for her outfits. Since she's up in space, she can't just pop down to the mall to get supplies. She appears to have used the same gray sleeveless top from her Gravity cosplay for the Starbuck costume.

The cosplay was particularly fitting since the ESA astronaut's expedition crew used a Battlestar theme for its mission. ISS expeditions often play with sci-fi imagery for their group photos.

Cristoforetti had a pitch-perfect response to ESA sharing the video on Twitter with the question, "Starbuck, what do you hear?" That's a line from Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos). The astronaut answered like Starbuck would: "Nothing but the rain."