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CULTURE IN ORBIT
“Waltz into Space”:
Vienna and ESA correct course
47 years later, that omission has finally been corrected.
On 31 May 2025, thanks to a collaboration between the
European Space Agency (ESA) and the Vienna Tourist
Board, the “Waltz into Space” mission was launched.
The date was no coincidence: it marked both the bicen-
tenary of Johann Strauss II’s birth and the 50th anniver-
sary of the ESA. Two anniversaries, united in a single
act of cultural justice.
The Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna hosted an ex-
traordinary concert. The Wiener Symphoniker, con-
ducted by Petr Popelka, performed The Blue Danube
for an eager audience. But the real audience was far
beyond our planet. The sound travelled in real time to
ESA’s deep-space antenna DSA 2 in Cebreros, Spain.
From there, transformed into an electromagnetic wave,
the waltz was transmitted into space at the speed of li-
ght, bound for Voyager 1, which continues its journey
through interstellar space some 25 billion kilometres
from Earth.
In approximately 23 hours, it reached the probe — and
though no one can listen to music in the void, the ges-
ture carries undeniable meaning. Humanity has, at last,
corrected its message to the stars by including one of its
most cherished and recognisable melodies.
The Waltz of Us All
The initiative was also participatory. Thanks to the “Space-
Notes” project, thousands of people from 92 countries —
with a particularly strong showing from Spain— were able
to sponsor one of the 13,743 notes that make up the waltz.
Each sponsor now travels symbolically with the melody,
becoming part of this unique cultural voyage.
The event was followed live from cities as diverse as Vien-
na, Madrid and New York. It was more than an institutional
act: it became a true global celebration, where science and
art, memory and innovation, came together in harmony.
Music for the Universe
With “Waltz into Space,” Vienna and the ESA have achie-
ved more than settling a historical debt — they’ve reminded
the world that music, like space itself, knows no borders.
The Blue Danube, composed in times of uncertainty and
hope, now spins beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, linking
humanity to the mystery of the stars.
A waltz born to soothe hearts in old Europe has become
a universal ambassador. Because if someday, somewhe-
re in a distant corner of the cosmos, someone tunes into
our melody, they will understand that we were capable of
creating beauty, of celebrating together, and of sending
into space — as naturally as skipping a stone across a
river — the music that best defines us.
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