Filed under: enart.cgnq.com — jack @ March 16, 2010 edit
This is a question about a track by the Canadian rock band 'Rush',
members of which were Geddy Lee, Neal Peart, Alex Lifeson I think.
On their album 'Signals' there is a spine-tingling track, 'Countdown',
which relates to the launch of the Space Shuttle.
I have the track on CD & know the song lyrics, but the track ends with
an instrumental portion overlaid with a soundtrack which appears to be
a conversation between Houston ground control and the Shuttle
astronauts.
I'd like to know if possible if this was a genuine conversation
recorded at some time by NASA or some other authority, and since I
can't quite make out the full conversation, I'd very much like a
transcript. If a source cannot be found despite your best efforts, if
you are familiar with the track & have a better ear than me :) then
your best guess as to what they're saying would suffice.
ThanksGan,
Thank you for the five star rating and tip. We're happy to have helped.
--Bobbie7Hello Gan,
Thank you for your question.
Here's the text of the conversation between Mission Control and the
Space Shuttle Columbia (on her maiden voyage), as it appears at the
end of Rush's "Countdown":
"We're coming up on the 45 minute point in our countdown. Everything's
going smoothly."
"T minus 45 minutes and counting."
"T minus 40 minutes, minus 40 minutes and counting..."
"This is shuttle launch control."
"We have a, uh, report from the orbiter test center, they are go for
launch at the present time... no major problems... engine final
hold."
"T minus 27 seconds; we have sequencer start."
"T minus 20 seconds and counting, T minus 15, 14, 13, T minus 10, 9,
8, 7, 6, 5, 4; we've got the main engine start-we have it."
"America's first space shuttle."
"And the shuttle has cleared the tower."
"T plus 30 seconds, 35..."
"Columbia, Houston, you're going 40..."
"Columbia is now clearing for its precise window in space for main
engine cutoff."
"Launch plus 240 seconds, Columbia now 39 nautical miles altitude, 42
nautical miles down range."
"Columbia, you're lookin' a little hot and all your calls will be a
little early."
"Young and Crippen really moving out now, velocity reading of 6200
feet per second."
"What a view, what a view."
"Glad you're enjoying it."
"Columbia, Houston, we have 40 seconds to LOS, after LOS you're
looking good for an over-the-hill; we'll see you in Madrid." (Note:
LOS = Loss Of Signal. As the orbiter passes over the horizon, US
listening posts lose signal. Antennas in Madrid relay signals to
Mission Control in Houston.)
"And we enjoyed the music, Bob; thank ya'."
"Ah, we enjoyed it; we just wanted to share somethin' with you."
(Note: First US space shuttle launch)
http://www.sloth.org/samples-bin/samples/group?exact=Rush
Pinkfreud told me that this conversation was broadcast on national
television. It was the first voyage of the Space Shuttle, so all the
banter between the astronauts and Mission Control was of high interest
to the public.
(Thanks Pink)
There’s a very interesting thread about the song Countdown at Google
Newsgroups. Here are a few excerpts taken from the thread.
“Did Rush just ask for some audio from NASA or was there anything more
to it, did they visit the NASA site for inspiration?”
“All three were at the launching, the very first space shuttle flight.
I think they were invited. Remember, this was in 1981, the peak of
their popularity.”
(..)
“I also seem to remember an interview years ago when they talked about
the whole experience. They said they were invited, and that it was one
of the most amazing experiences of their lives.”
(..)
Actually the tour program for Signals had a piece on it:
From the tour program:
VIII Countdown, Cape Kennedy, Florida, April 1982.
“We were there! It wasn't easy but we made it! We had a long-standing
invitation to the first launch, and always swore that we would be
there no matter what. (..) I remember thinking to myself as we flew
back to Fort Worth after a couple of days without sleep: "We've got to
write a song about this!" It was an incredible thing to witness, truly
a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can only hope that the song even
comes close to capturing the excitement and awe we felt that morning.”
-Neil Peart
(..)
This note is before the lyrics to the song:
"Dedicated with thanks to astronauts Young & Crippen and all the
people of NASA for their inspiration and cooperation"
Also there is a thank you to NASA along with rest of the standard
"thanks".
Source: Google Newsgroups
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&safe=off&th=10ae6c6c3c16fcd3&rnum=6
Search Criteria:
Rush, Countdown lyrics, Nasa,
I hope this helps. If anything is unclear please request clarification
and I'll be glad to offer further assistance before you rate my
answer.
Best Regards,
Bobbie7-gaHmmm... how strange that three Canadians would have a standing
invitation to a U.S. shuttle launch.
Perhaps it's a secret invasion by our seemingly innocuous neighbors to
the North, who have been infiltrating our country via the apparently
"harmless" route through the music world...
Rush
The Guess Who
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Neil Young
Jeff Healey Band
The Tragically Hip
Crash Test Dummies
Barenaked Ladies
Shania Twain
Sarah McLachlan
Alanis Morrissette
kd lang
Nelly Furtado
Gordon Lightfoot
Corey Hart
Bryan Adams
(okay, so they've already apologized for Bryan Adams)
Glass Tiger
Celine Dion
Anne MurrayFantastic, thanks bobbie7, & thanks for Pink's input too. Pretty good
to wake up to this this morning ;)#If you have any other info about this subject , Please add it free.# |
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