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yesterday

ESA Beams Strauss’s ‘Blue Danube’ into Space as Signal Heads Toward Voyager 1

Sent from ESA’s Cebreros antenna after a Vienna concert, the wave will arrive at Voyager 1 in roughly 23 hours

A member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra plays on harp during "The Blue Danube" waltz as it is transmitted into deep space towards Voyager 1. in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra perform "The Blue Danube" waltz as it is transmitted into deep space towards Voyager 1. in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra perform "The Blue Danube" waltz as it is transmitted into deep space towards Voyager 1. in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Members of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra perform "The Blue Danube" waltz as it is transmitted into deep space towards Voyager 1. in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Overview

  • ESA marked Johann Strauss II’s 200th birthday and its own 50th anniversary by transmitting a pre-recorded performance of “The Blue Danube” by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra into space on May 31, 2025.
  • The digitized waltz was broadcast as electromagnetic waves from the agency’s 35-meter deep-space antenna in Cebreros, Spain, following the livestreamed “Waltz Into Space” concert.
  • The signal is en route to NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, where it is expected to arrive in about 23 hours before continuing its journey into interstellar space.
  • Public screenings in Vienna, New York’s Bryant Park and near the Cebreros dish allowed audiences to watch the concert and reception of the transmission in real time.
  • Austria’s initiative seeks to correct the omission of Strauss’s waltz from the 1977 Voyager Golden Records and highlight Vienna’s musical heritage through international collaboration.