05/06/2025
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On 31 Could, a reside efficiency of The Blue Danube – also known as the ‘anthem of house’ – was transmitted by the European Area Company (ESA) into the vastness of house. The occasion marked a double celebration: ESA’s fiftieth anniversary and the 200th birthday of the King of Waltz Johann Strauss II.
As a part of a singular cultural tribute, ESA partnered with the Vienna Vacationer Board to share a reside live performance of Johann Strauss II’s The Blue Danube with the Universe. Carried out by the Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) at Vienna’s Museum of Utilized Arts (MAK), the WALTZ INTO SPACE live performance was additionally streamed to audiences on the Strandbar Herrmann in Vienna, the Madrid Planetarium, and New York Metropolis’s Bryant Park.
The occasion was greater than an earthbound celebration. The digitised sign of the efficiency was beamed into house through ESA’s Cebreros deep house antenna in Spain – a part of Estrack, the company’s international community of floor stations that helps communication with missions like Juice, BepiColombo and Hera, in addition to spacecraft operated by worldwide companions.
Music lovers additionally took half in an interactive expertise known as SpaceNotes, symbolically launching particular person notes of The Blue Danube into house. Every of the waltz’s 13 743 notes was ‘adopted’ by a patron, whose title was transmitted alongside the observe. In lower than 51 days after the initiative was introduced, each observe had been claimed – a mean of 270 notes per day, with members from 92 nations around the globe.
The transmission was exactly aligned with the trajectory of NASA’s Voyager 1, probably the most distant human-made object in house, presently over 25 billion kilometres from Earth. Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 carries the long-lasting Golden File – a time capsule of Earth’s music and tradition. Although The Blue Danube was not included within the authentic file, it has now joined the cosmic soundscape, travelling on the velocity of sunshine towards the celebs. The sign reached the situation of Voyager 1 in slightly below a day and can now proceed its journey by way of house indefinitely – taking greater than 4 years to achieve Alpha Centauri, our nearest star system.
“This occasion exhibits that our know-how can transmit not solely scientific information, but additionally human artwork over lengthy distances,” mentioned ESA Director Basic, Josef Aschbacher. “It’s a robust second that displays how music – very similar to house – connects all of humanity.”
Famously utilized in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Area Odyssey to accompany a spacecraft docking sequence, The Blue Danube has turn out to be synonymous with humanity’s exploration of house. With this symbolic mission, ESA honours each a wealthy cultural heritage and a permanent aspiration: a Viennese waltz echoing endlessly by way of the Universe.
“The profitable realisation of the WALTZ INTO SPACE mission is a testomony to Vienna’s distinctive capacity to mix custom with innovation,” mentioned Norbert Kettner, CEO of the Vienna Vacationer Board. “We’re proud to have collaborated with the European Area Company, whose willingness to assist this distinctive challenge is an honour and much from a given. Our honest gratitude goes to all companions and supporters who made this cosmic celebration of Vienna’s cultural heritage potential.”
The WALTZ INTO SPACE live performance could be rewatched here.
