Fixing NASA’s Mistake? Vienna & ESA Send Johann Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ Waltz Into Space

A song often synonymous with space, Johann Strauss II’s “The Blue Danube” Waltz, will soon emanate across the stars via a partnership between Tourism Vienna and the European Space Agency. To mark ESA’s 50th anniversary and Strauss’ 200th birthday, the song, which was once featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, will journey into space on 31 May. 

Vienna’s tourism board director, Norbert Kettner, commented: “the absence of the most famous of all waltzes from the 1977 Voyager Golden Record is a cosmic mistake that we are correcting with ‘Waltz into Space’. As part of our mission with the European Space Agency, we are sending ‘By the Beautiful Blue Danube’ in the direction of the [Voyager-1] space probe that is already traveling through interstellar space. ‘Waltz into Space’ will therefore have an impact beyond our solar system and also inspire people on Earth to experience culture in Vienna.”

Waltz Into Space: Sending Blue Danube Into The Cosmos

Frequently regarded as one of the biggest “cosmic mistakes”, Tourism Vienna is aiming to transport Blue Danube to its rightful home: space. The reason why it’s considered a mistake is because in 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 were launched. With them, the two space probes carried 27 records – colloquially referred to as the “Golden Records”. 

The music ranged from natural Earthly sounds like thunder and rain, to rock and roll or classic music. Yet, something Tourism Vienna lements: Blue Danube was not included. To rectify the issue, Blue Danube will be beamed into space on 31 May 2025. Labelled: “the musical epitome of weightlessness in space in popular culture,” Blue Danube will soon take its place among the stars. 

How To Watch Vienna & ESA Correct NASA’s Mistake

On 31 May, ESA’s Deep Space Antenna (DSA 2), located in Cebreros, Spain, will broadcast Blue Danube. The transmission will be made using an “interstellar concert performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra,” Tourism Vienna said. 

Once transmission commences, it’ll take 23 hours for Blue Danube to reach Voyager 1, with the signal eventually travelling past the probe and into the stars. To mark the occasion further, Tourism Vienna are even offering note sponsorships to allow fans to leave their footprint on the indelible song. 

For viewers, the event will be broadcasted live in Vienna, New York and Madrid, Tourism Vienna said. For the rest of the world, the event will also be live streamed on the space.vienna.info website.

How ESA Will Beam The 2001: A Space Odyssey Theme Into Space

The crux of this mission and why many believe the song is the unofficial theme of space was due to its pop-culture debut in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Featured in the section of the film where a shuttle drifts through space and the people onboard experience weightlessness in zero gravity. 

Since then, the song has been played in The Simpsons outer-space episode when Homer floats around a shuttle eating crisps he mistakenly opened during zero-gravity. Another milestone that solidified the song’s claim to space was when NASA used the Danube Waltz during “wake-up calls and docking maneuvers,” Tourism Vienna said. In fact, NASA also played Blue Danube when Discovery docked with the International Space Station.  

To tighten these deeply woven relations between Blue Danube and space, ESA will use their DSA 2 antenna – primarily used for deep space communications – to beam the song into space at the speed of light. It will be transmitted as an electromagnetic wave, blasting past the Moon 1.34 seconds after the mission commences. 

Thereafter, in just over 4 minutes, Blue Danube will flow past Mars. It will also pass Jupiter in 37 minutes, and reach Neptune within 4 hours. After 17 hours, Blue Danube will arrive at the heliopause – the “limits of our solar system”. Upon leaving the Milky Way after around 23 hours, Blue Danube will travel past Voyager 1 and into the cosmos, completing its mission, and immortalising the song in space forever.