Press release short version

Press release long version

• Event: On May 31, 2025, Johann Strauss Sohn’s Danube Waltz will be transmitted into space.
• Location: Interstellar concert performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, conducted by Petr Popelka.
• Technology: Broadcast from the ESA Deep Space Antenna DSA 2 in Cebreros, Spain.
• Objective: The signal will catch up with NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe after 23 hours and travel on to infinity.
• Note sponsorship: Music fans all over the world can lay claim to a note of the waltz with SpaceNotes.
• Global broadcast: Live streaming in Vienna, New York and Madrid as well as on space.vienna.info.
• Historical context: Correction of the mistake made in 1977, when Strauss’ waltz was not included on the Voyager Golden Record.
• Anniversaries: 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss’ birth, 50th anniversary of the ESA, 125th anniversary of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

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Correcting a cosmic omission from 1977

A huge moment for mankind – with one flaw: in 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 space probes were sent into space with 27 pieces of music, referred to as the “Golden Records”. They were records comprising a collection of mankind’s greatest achievements. The Danube Waltz, the musical epitome of weightlessness in space in popular culture, was not included – something unimaginable today. To mark the Strauss anniversary year, the Vienna Tourist Board and the European Space Agency (ESA) are using modern technology to correct a historical mistake.

Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig: “Contemporary history live”
“In 2025, Vienna will celebrate the 200th birthday of its Waltz King with stagings of 65 productions over the course of some 250 performance days throughout Vienna. Under the motto “King of Waltz. Queen of Music”, the Vienna Tourist Board has opted for a progressive approach to Johann Strauss II, which reaches its brilliant climax with ‘Waltz into Space’. Once again, the Austrian capital will be presenting itself as an innovative world capital of music – a city that not only preserves its heritage, but also generates impetus for the future with visionary ideas.

Norbert Kettner, Director of the Vienna Tourist Board “Strauss reaches beyond the solar system”
“Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ made the Danube Waltz the anthem of space – the absence of the most famous of all waltzes from the 1977 Voyager Golden Record is a cosmic mistake that we are correcting with ‘Waltz into Space’. At a distance of more than 25 billion kilometers from Earth, Voyager 1 is the most distant man-made object in space. As part of our mission with the European Space Agency, we are sending ‘By the Beautiful Blue Danube’ in the direction of the space probe that is already traveling through interstellar space. ‘Waltz into Space’ will therefore have an impact beyond our solar system and also inspire people on Earth to experience culture in Vienna.”

Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the ESA: “Where artistic vision and scientific excellence meet”
“In 2025 we have a wonderful double anniversary: the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss II and the 50th anniversary of the ESA. I am delighted that we can celebrate both by broadcasting a live performance of the Danube Waltz into space from our Cebreros ground station. This demonstrates that our technology can transmit not only scientific data but also human art over long distances. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of our global ground station network. This broadcast will be a special moment that will show that music – just like space – connects all of humanity.”
 

STREAM IT UP! 
DANUBE WALTZ AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

From Earth to the stars: On May 31, 2025 at 20:30 CET, an interstellar concert by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra will take place at the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Under the direction of chief conductor Petr Popelka, the orchestra will perform a selection of galactic-themed works. The highlight of the concert will be Johann Strauss II’s Danube Waltz, which will be transmitted in real time to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Deep Space Antenna DSA 2 in Cebreros, Spain. From there, the waltz will be transmitted into the universe as an electromagnetic wave at the speed of light in the direction of Voyager 1. 23 hours later, the signal will catch up with NASA’s space probe, which has been traveling since 1977 to convey earthly masterpieces to potential extraterrestrial beings. The final chord of the Danube Waltz will conclude the broadcast into space, which will be accessible worldwide via the livestream at space.vienna.info.

A global celebration – from Vienna to New York
The roughly hour-long concert, including the Waltz into Space mission, will also be streamed live at the Strandbar Herrmann in Vienna, in Bryant Park near Grand Central in New York and directly in front of the ESA Deep Space Antenna DSA 2 in Cebreros near Madrid. This will enable people all over the world to be part of this unique moment and witness Vienna sending its musical message into the universe.

The mission can also be followed via a global livestream on space.vienna.info and the Vienna Tourist Board’s Instagram channel @vienna.

Be part of the mission with SpaceNotes – interactive note sponsorship and a humorous mission film

Music lovers worldwide can be part of the Waltz into Space mission through the SpaceNotes initiative. Anyone who claims one of the 13,743 notes from “By the Beautiful Blue Danube” at space.vienna.info will symbolically accompany the work into space. The aim is to broadcast the waltz out into the universe on May 31 accompanied by 13,743 names. Supporters will receive a personalized certificate and become SpaceNote Ambassadors – among those already involved are Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig, Josef Aschbacher (ESA General Director), Kara Talve (The Simpsons), Brian W. Cook (former Assistant Director to Stanley Kubrick) and Carmen Possnig (ESA Reserve Astronaut).

To coincide with this, Vienna Tourist Board’s newly released mission film invites anyone interested from around the world to join the mission and become one of the limited 13,743 SpaceNote Ambassadors. The humorous short film, shot in a decommissioned nuclear power plant with an iconic 70s interior, tells the story of how the Danube Waltz was left behind during the launch of Voyager 1 in 1977.

Deep Space Antenna sends Donauwalzer on an interstellar journey

The ESA Deep Space Antenna DSA 2 is primarily used for deep space missions, in other words for communicating with objects in orbits more than two million kilometers away from Earth. In order to transmit the Danube Waltz, the signal will be sent into space as an electromagnetic wave at the speed of light (299,792,458 m/s – the fastest speed possible in our universe). It will reach the orbit of the Moon after approximately 1.34 seconds, the orbit of Mars after 4 minutes and 20 seconds, the orbit of Jupiter after 37 minutes, the orbit of Neptune after 4 hours and the limits of our solar system, called the heliopause, after 17 hours. The signal will then leave our solar system. After 23 hours and 3 minutes, it will catch up with Voyager 1 and venture even deeper into interstellar space. Strauss’ waltz will then travel through space forever.

2025: ONE YEAR, FIVE ANNIVERSARIES

It is not just the Waltz King and his queen, Vienna, who will be celebrated this year as part of the “King of Waltz. Queen of Music” themed year. Other anniversaries that will be celebrated include:

• The European Space Agency (ESA) is also looking back on 50 years since its foundation.
• At the same time, the ESA Deep Space Antenna DSA 2 in Cebreros, which will transmit the Strauss waltz into space on May 31, will be 20 years old. 
• The Estrack Network (ESA’s Tracking Station Network), in which the antenna in Spain is located, will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025. 
• The Vienna Symphony Orchestra is 125 years old this year. 

Countdown to the Strauss year initiated with “Space Anthem”

It is not only fictional characters such as Homer Simpson who have been floating through space in three-four time since Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction film “2001: A Space Odyssey”. In real space travel, too, the Blue Danube Waltz is an integral part of wake-up calls and docking maneuvers. Even during the NASA mission in 2001, the Danube Waltz was played when the space shuttle “Discovery” docked at the International Space Station (ISS) – it is internationally regarded as the anthem of space. In the Vienna Tourist Board’s mini-documentary “Space Anthem” (spaceanthem.wien.info), produced in collaboration with the European Space Agency, prominent international voices from the worlds of music, film and space travel explain the special connection between Strauss’ waltz and outer space. It is the first major production by the Vienna Tourist Board to mark its annual theme “King of Waltz. Queen of Music.” (strauss.wien.info).

LINKS

• Waltz into Space press photos: Vienna Tourist Board Newsroom or Dropbox-Page
• Waltz into Space website: space.vienna.info
• Space Anthem: spaceanthem.wien.info
• King of Waltz. Queen of Music: strauss.vienna.info
• City Guide App “ivie”: ivie.wien.info
• Vienna in Strauss and Braus 2025: www.johannstrauss2025.at
• European Space Agency (ESA): www.esa.int
• Estrack Network: www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/ESA_Ground_Stations
• Cebreros Station press photos www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2005/06/Cebreros_station or www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2006/04/Deep_space_radio_antenna_in_Cebreros

At photo.vienna.info you can access more than 1,000 photos of Vienna for your report after completing a short sign-up process; video footage is available at footage.vienna.info.

CONTACTS FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Vienna Tourist Board
Helena Steinhart
Tel.: +43 676 88929 364
helena.steinhart@vienna.info

CONTACT PR AGENCY US
dci
Tel.:+1 917 655 2184
chiara.peretti@aboutdci.com

CONTACT PR AGENCY UK
Lemongrass Marketing
Tel.: +44 (0) 1865 237 990
alexandra.liste@lemongrassmarketing.com

ESOC
The European Space Operations Centre media@esa.int 

Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Julia Brüggemann
Head of Marketing & Communication
Tel.: +43 1 58979-15
j.brueggemann@wienersymphoniker.at