A pretty great voice for an astronaut:
Context for the recording:
Commander Chris Hadfield is one of the most memorable astronauts to have gone into space, so it was fitting that his farewell moment to the world saw him record the first ever music video from space. Ahead of his return to Earth on Monday after five months at the International Space Station (ISS), the 53-year-old Canadian astronaut fittingly covered the David Bowie classic ‘Space Oddity’ in a poignant video. Hadfield has maintained strong links to folks at home, having entertained his 700,000-plus Twitter followers with regular photos and commentary, and taken part in a Reddit AMA interview, but music was always a focus for hom. He recorded the first song in space last December, and, speaking before his latest mission, he admitted that he would record a range of songs in space. Here he discusses playing music in space in more detail.
Alex Knapp notes that this is likely Hadfield’s last trip because “cuts by the Canadian government have forced the space agency to cut back its manned program, meaning that no Canadian astronauts are likely to spend anytime in space soon”:
I’m willing to bet that it was with the knowledge that his current space mission is likely his last that led Hadfield to produce this poignant cover version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. He recorded the vocals and guitar while on board the International Space Station. Piano and other musical accompaniment were provided by folks down on Earth. The video itself is gorgeous, featuring some amazing shots of Earth through the windows of the space station as Hadfield sings Bowie’s famous tune.
The Dish 