11-time world champion from Cocoa Beach has friends in orbit. International Space Station astronaut Christina H. Koch, who has shown a love for surfing, recently displayed Slater's signed No. 11 jersey from the Oi Rio Pro contest in Brazil, where Slater lost to eventual winner Filipe Toledo in the Round of 16.
The jersey reached the ISS during a re-supply mission, undoubtedly thanks to the efforts of the World Surf League and NASA. Friday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., viewers can tune in to NASA's telecast to watch a live public chat as the astronaut answers Slater's questions, which he has garnered from his social media audience of some 2.6 million Instagram and 1.8 million Facebook followers.