While much of the world was rendered spellbound by social media-savvy astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield's mesmerizing "Space Oddity" music video broadcast from Outer Space, there were those of us who had one thing on our minds: How the heck did a guitar get on the International Space Station (ISS)?
Considering everything from the very cost of sending accoutrements into space to the way each and every item must be meticulously accounted for regarding weight, size and other extremely significant factors, it does boggle the mind and may seem rather incongruous that something like a conventional guitar would be implanted in the ISS, ready for Hadfield to use as he vaunted his (literally) stellar David Bowie cover.
The answer, it turns out, is a simple one. How did Hadfield get a guitar into Space? It was already there. That's right: The famed guitar in the "Space Oddity" music video that went viral a few weeks ago is a perennial part of the ISS, along with a keyboard, saxophone, flute and (believe it) a didgeridoo.
The guitar itself has been a part of the ISS since 2001, according to Robert Frost, who trained the astronauts to work the ISS' motion control.
"The cosmonauts from [Russian space station] Mir had talked about how important it was for them to have music onboard their station, and the flight surgeons and psychological support personnel in Houston agreed."
As a side note, Frost added that astronaut Cady Coleman contributed some in-orbit flute playing to an album by traditional Irish band the Chieftains.
The ISS guitar, which is a Canadian Larrivee (despite having, of course, been purchased at a guitar shop in Houston), is one of two that was purchased at the time of sale. A second guitar was kept on the ground in order for there to be conducted comparison experiments whose goal was to see how microgravity affects tonality.
The guitar cost approximately $1800, Frost added.
"The most difficult thing was getting approval from the safety people -- they are pretty resistant to allowing flammable items onboard," Frost says. "They also had to make sure the varnish didn't contain anything toxic like benzene that could off-gas in the vehicle."
How did the guitar actually get to the ISS?
It arrived courtesy Space Shuttle Discovery, mission STS-105. The mission had plenty of space, Frost says, so adding a guitar wasn't that much of a problem, especially since "[a]s long as the payload fits within the mission envelope, it doesn't really add an additional cost."
What instrument do you think should be up on the ISS, and what songs would you like to see performed in Outer Space? Let us know in the comments below!
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