The passing of one of the world’s most beloved music artists is a hard pill to swallow. David Bowie impacted not just music and fashion, but also science fiction and even real astronauts. Nowhere is this better evidenced than in this cover of “Space Oddity,” recorded in space by International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield.
The video, which went massively viral in 2013, was approved by Bowie himself, calling it “possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created” shortly after it was posted.
The licensing to keep the video up has been renewed after it was temporarily taken down a year after being originally published. During the negotiations to keep the video live, lawyers ran into the conundrum of copyright relevance in space.
Commander Hadfeld, the first Canadian ISS commander and decorated fighter pilot, said the following about the video:
“It was a chance to let people see where we truly are in space exploration. We’re not just probing what lies beyond Earth – we inhabit it.” He continued, “we’re proud to have helped bring Bowie’s genius from 1969 into space itself in 2013, and now ever-forward.”
Here is the legend’s original 1972 “Space Oddity” video, although it wasn’t recorded in low earth orbit, it remains a classic.
Update: 8:15AM PST- Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s memorial tweet to Bowie:
Contact the author at Tyler@jalopnik.com.