An albatross was a large bird native to Earth's oceans. This seabird was revered by ancient mariners.
Paul Stamets referred to Hugh Culber as his albatross or "ball and chain". (DIS: "Project Daedalus")
The albatross is the main focus of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the poem refers to someone bearing a burden or facing an obstacle is said to have "an albatross around his neck", which was the punishment for the mariner who killed an albatross.