Astronaut Plays "Space Oddity" In Space

2013

After the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield records the David Bowie song "Space Oddity" on board the International Space Station, his sublime rendition is posted to YouTube, quickly garnering millions of views.

Along with, you know, science stuff, there is a guitar on board the International Space Station, and when Chris Hadfield takes his post as Commander, he puts it to use. A song that every astronaut knows quite well is "Space Oddity," which tells the story of Major Tom, an astronaut who travels to space and becomes adulated by folks back on Earth. Entranced by the tranquil expanse, he cuts himself loose and drifts away. This exact storyline isn't appropriate for Hadfield, as he has every intention of returning home, but the song captured the majesty of space like no other. He alters the lyric so Major Tom doesn't float away and records the track, which is beamed down to Earth where Emm Gryner, a singer-songwriter who did time in Bowie's live band, compiles the song, adding various instruments along with some space station sounds Hadfield recorded. A video comes together with footage of Hadfield in space, and a legal team works out a one-year deal to use the song - a high hurdle because there's no protocol for obtaining rights to a song recorded in orbit. When the video is posted to YouTube, Bowie posts on his Facebook page, "It's possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created." The video comes down when the agreement expires after a year, but it goes back up six months later when a new deal is struck. After Bowie dies in 2016, Hadfield writes, "His art defined an image of outer space, inner self, and a rapidly changing world for a generation finding themselves at the confluence. Being able to record 'Oddity' on the International Space Station was an attempt to bring that art full circle. It was meant as a way to allow people to experience, without it being stated, that our culture had reached beyond the planet. We live in space. I thank him for allowing us the opportunity, and for being so kind since."