The Blue Danube Waltz sent into the stars

As part of a unique cultural tribute, ESA partnered with the Vienna Tourist Board to share a live concert of Johann Strauss II’s The Blue Danube with the Universe. Performed by the Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) at Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), the WALTZ INTO SPACE concert was also streamed to audiences at the Strandbar Herrmann in Vienna, the Madrid Planetarium, and New York City’s Bryant Park.

The event was more than an earthbound celebration. The digitised signal of the performance was beamed into space via ESA’s Cebreros deep space antenna in Spain – part of Estrack, the agency’s global network of ground stations that supports communication with missions like Juice, BepiColombo and Hera, as well as spacecraft operated by international partners.

Music enthusiasts also took part in an interactive experience called SpaceNotes, symbolically launching individual notes of The Blue Danube into space. Each of the waltz’s 13 743 notes was ‘adopted’ by a patron, whose name was transmitted alongside the note. In less than 51 days after the initiative was announced, every note had been claimed – an average of 270 notes per day, with participants from 92 countries around the world.

The transmission was precisely aligned with the trajectory of NASA’s Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object in space, currently over 25 billion kilometres from Earth. Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 carries the iconic Golden Record – a time capsule of Earth’s music and culture. Though The Blue Danube was not included in the original record, it has now joined the cosmic soundscape, travelling at the speed of light toward the stars. The signal reached the location of Voyager 1 in just under a day and will now continue its journey through space indefinitely – taking more than four years to reach Alpha Centauri, our nearest star system.

“This event shows that our technology can transmit not only scientific data, but also human art over long distances,” said ESA Director General, Josef Aschbacher. “It’s a powerful moment that reflects how music – much like space – connects all of humanity.”

Famously used in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey to accompany a spacecraft docking sequence, The Blue Danube has become synonymous with humanity’s exploration of space. With this symbolic mission, ESA honours both a rich cultural heritage and an enduring aspiration: a Viennese waltz echoing endlessly through the Universe.

“The successful realisation of the WALTZ INTO SPACE mission is a testament to Vienna’s unique ability to blend tradition with innovation,” said Norbert Kettner, CEO of the Vienna Tourist Board. “We are proud to have collaborated with the European Space Agency, whose willingness to support this exceptional project is an honour and far from a given. Our sincere gratitude goes to all partners and supporters who made this cosmic celebration of Vienna’s cultural heritage possible.”

The WALTZ INTO SPACE concert can be rewatched here.