Check out this out-of-this-world surprise delivered by the rock band U2 to their concert audience at Quest Field, Seattle U2 on the night of June 4;
A video message from STS-134 Shuttle Commander Mark E. Kelly – From the Official U2 YouTube Website
According to the website, “Bono dedicated ‘Beautiful Day’ to Gabby Giffords, before asking, “Imagine a man looking down on us from 200 miles up. Looking down at our beautiful crowded planet… What would he say to us…? What is on your mind Commander Kelly?”
Kelly recorded a special message for his wife, Gabby Giffords, while he was floating inside the Cupola Observation Dome aboard the International Space Station during the STS-134 mission which landed safely on June 1 at the Kennedy Space Center.
“Hello Seattle… from the International Space Station.”
Before finishing on a line from David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ : “I’m looking forward to coming home. Tell my wife I love her very much… she knows,” said Kelly
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U2 has collaborated with NASA since their 2009 world tour to “include a dialogue between the band and the crew of the International Space Station.”
U2360° has worked with NASA and the International Space Station throughout this tour – having previously linked up with Belgian astronaut Commander Frank De Winne, Michael Barratt of NASA, Bob Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency, Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Gennady Padalka and Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency as well as Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte during his visit to the International Space Station.
“Working with U2 is atypical for NASA,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for Space Operations in a NASA statement. “By combining their world tour with the space station’s out-of-this-world mission, more people — and different people than our normal target audiences — learned about the International Space Station and the important work we are doing in orbit.”
Be sure to check out this longer video version – and listen to the cheering crowd
Bono Intro to Beautiful Day with Commander Mark Kelly – U2 – Seattle, WA – June 4, 2011
Read my features about the final mission of Endeavour, STS 134, starting here
Era of Space Shuttle Endeavour Ends with June 1 landing at the Kennedy Space Center
Really good article, …..videos are also very nice…people need this type of information to make the right decision.
Bankruptcy Services Revere
Good that NASA is, and has, been doing this minor outreach.
I would hope there was more effort on the part of everyone wishing to prosthelytize space to others who are unaware of the grandeur and majesty of a simple wide field telescope, to go the distance and join the street scope crowd. This is a great time to give of yourself and your knowledge. Changing minds is not what any of this is really about, though so many times the word prosthelytize is incorrect, but the revelation of wonders.
Mary
My brother and a couple of his mates were at the show, and said this was an incredible moment. Only wish I had been there…..
If you know David Bowie you are familiar with those words, “Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows”, from the song “Space Oddity”, what a great space song!! and it’s just about an astronaut in space, in orbit, just like Mark!! What a great choice, and good musical taste!
if you like to hear more “music from space” you are welcome to check http://www.myspace.com/aliengun 🙂