In Brief

Epic 'Space Oddity' Music Video by Astronaut Chris Hadfield Goes Offline Today: Watch It Here

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Space Oddity from Orbit
As a final farewell to his life on board the International Space Station, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield covered David Bowie's "Space Oddity" from orbit. (Image credit: Canadian Space Agency/Chris Hadfield)

Canada's astronaut star Chris Hadfield wowed the Internet last year when he posted a YouTube music video of David Bowie's epic "Space Oddity" while actually living in space. Now, the astronaut says, the one-year copyright permission that allowed him to post the video is expiring, making today (May 13) the last day it will be available on YouTube. 

"Bowie's last day - we had permission for a year, so our Space Oddity video comes down today. One last look:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo …" Hadfield wrote via Twitter (@Cmdr_Hadfield) today.

Music and sound was one of the hallmarks of Hadfield's space mission in 2013. He launched to the International Space Station on Dec. 19, 2012 and returned to Earth the following year on May 12. During that time, he played the guitar, posted a series of how-to videos on life in space, and became Canada's first space station commander. He also recorded a series of everyday sounds to share what it sounds like to live on the space station. 

Hadfield also gained pop star status while living in orbit by using social media to post spectacular photos of Earth from space, videos of weightless living, and mission updates. He also traded tweets with William Shatner, of "Star Trek" fame, and other Trek stars. 

After returning to Earth, Hadfield " and later retired from the Canadian Space Agency's astronaut corps in June 2013, and later wrote an autobiography, "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth."

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.