Strauss’ The Blue Danube to waltz into outer space

Austrian composer Johann Strauss II's The Blue Danube has, for many people, been synonymous with space travel since it was used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi film classic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

- BLAISE GAUQUELIN

But the world famous waltz truly travelled among the stars on Saturday, when the European Space Agency's (ESA) antenna broadcast a live performance of it into space to celebrate the composer's 200th birthday.

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra played a concert in the Austrian capital from 6.30pm local time, Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, said.

The concert was broadcast live on the internet and also be shown at a public screening in Vienna, in New York at Bryant Park, and near the antenna in Spain.

“The digitised sound is transmitted to the large 35m satellite dish at ESA’s Cebreros ground station in Spain,” Aschbacher said.