On January 28, 1986, America watched on television as the space shuttle Challenger—carrying six astronauts and one schoolteacher—disappeared in a twisting cloud of smoke, nine miles above the launch pad it had just left. To a stunned nation, it appeared that seven lives had instantly been lost.

The documentary I Am Big Bird—following the life of veteran muppeteer Caroll Spinney—doesn’t premiere until next week, but many of the film’s most interesting details are out today thanks to the New York Post. Among them: Spinney is related to Barack Obama, has used the suit to hide his tears and was a planned crewmember of the doomed Challenger mission.