Science/Tech

Chris Hadfield Makes First Music Video in Space, Bids Farewell to ISS with David Bowie Classic [VIDEO]

By Jennifer Broderick | Update Date: May 13, 2013 10:16 PM EDT

The International Space Station changed captains on Monday - an event that often times goes largely unnoticed by the media and everyday folks - but this time, it's different thanks to the YouTube-star and social media loving current captain, Chris Hadfield.

Captain Hadfield made the space station more relatable and accessible to people than ever before, by sharing what everyday life is like onboard the station. He shared videos on how to brush his teeth, how to cook spinach, how to wring out a wet washcloth in space and ended off his 146-day mission trip by singing a rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" that even Bowie is retweeting.

With Bowie's approval, the song's lyrics were tweaked to reflect Hadfield's return from the International Space Station on Monday aboard a Russian Soyuz craft. "Lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on," Hadfield sings in the video. After showing scenes of Hadfield strumming on his guitar and gazing soulfully out the station's windows, the video winds up with a Soyuz parachuting down to its landing.

"With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World," Hadfield wrote on Twitter to introduce the song.

Hadfield's voice and guitar solos were recorded on the station although the backing track was compiled by a team on Earth.

The video provided a fitting climax to Hadfield's six-month mission to the ISS which has shown him use social media more effectively than anyone in the history of space travel.

Hadfield handed over command of the International Space Station to Russia's Pavel Vinogradov on Sunday, ahead of his expedition team's return to Earth.

Chris Hadfield is due to land back on Earth in Kazakhstan on Tuesday morning at 0231 GMT aboard a Russian Soyuz-TMA capsule along with Russia's Roman Romanenko and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn.

Watch Chris Hadfield's "Space Oddity" Video below:

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics