Strauss's Blue Danube Waltz has finally made it into space, nearly half a century after it was barred from flying on NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft.
On Saturday, the European Space Agency's large radio antenna in Spain transmitted a waltz into space.
Operators pointed the antenna at Voyager 1, the world's most distant spacecraft, more than 15 billion miles away.
The music, traveling at the speed of light, was expected to reach Voyager 1 within 23 hours.
The Vienna Symphony Orchestra performed “The Blue Danube” during a space broadcast that actually transmitted a rehearsal version.
The event was part of a year-long celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss, who was born in Vienna in 1825.
Strauss's send-off into space also marks the 50th anniversary of ESA's founding.
Launched in 1977 and now in interstellar space, both Voyagers carry the Golden Record, full of music but without the Strauss recordings.
His “Blue Danube” has special significance for space lovers, as it was featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
