Deep Space Homer

Buzz Aldrin as himself
James Taylor as himself

"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 24, 1994. In the episode, NASA is concerned by the decline in public interest in space exploration, and therefore decides to send an ordinary person into space. Homer is selected and chaos ensues when the navigation system on his space shuttle is destroyed.

"Deep Space Homer" was directed by Carlos Baeza and was the only episode of The Simpsons written by David Mirkin, who was also the executive producer at the time.Buzz Aldrin and James Taylor both guest starred as themselves. The critically acclaimed episode became the source of the Overlord meme, and features numerous film parodies, mostly of The Right Stuff and 2001: A Space Odyssey. A copy of the episode is available for astronauts to watch at the International Space Station.

At the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, it is time for the ceremony for the "Worker of the Week" award and Homer, the only employee who has never won the award, is confident he will win. However, Mr. Burns gives the award to an 'inanimate carbon rod'. The dejected Homer, feeling that no one respects him, turns to TV for solace and comes across a live space shuttle launch, which he finds dull. Meanwhile, NASA, frustrated over its drop in the Nielsen ratings, decides to send an "average shmoe" into space as the solution. At that moment, Homer telephones NASA to complain about their "boring space launches", as well as asking if they know where he can find some Tang, and NASA chiefs realize they have found their man. When they arrive at Moe's Tavern in search of Homer, who is currently calling Bill Clinton to ask about Tang, he believes he is in trouble for making a prank call to NASA and blames Barney for the incident. The NASA employees ask Barney to be an astronaut, and when Homer realizes what the proposal entails, he steps in and takes credit for the call.