Since the start of the Apollo program in the 1960s, NASA has woken up its astronauts on the day of their space launch to the time’s most popular songs. Traditionally, the crew members, their family and friends choose the song. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman shot earlier this year, chose U2’s “Beautiful Day” when her then-boyfriend (now husband) Mark Kelly went into space in 2006. Now Mark Kelly is the commander of the space shuttle Endeavor, making its twenty-fifth and final launch this Friday and NASA have invited the public to vote on what song the crew should wake up to. We review the musical eclecticism of past NASA wake-up songs and ask our listeners for their final launch song suggestions.
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