posted 02-09-2011 10:15 AM               

Cady Coleman plays flute on space station

This video presents highlights from in-flight interviews conducted Feb. 9, 2011 with NPR's "All Things Considered" and KHOU-TV, Houston with International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 26 flight engineer Catherine "Cady" Coleman (joined by station commander Scott Kelly and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli).

Coleman speaks about playing her flute in space before giving a short performance.

Coleman has four flutes to pick from aboard the space station.

"I brought my own flute with me but I also brought some other flutes," Coleman told NPR. "I have a penny whistle from Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains and also a very old Irish flute from Matt Molloy of The Chieftains. And I have a flute from Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. So a pretty well-rounded spectrum and I am having a great time up here with them."

When on the ground, Coleman plays flute with the Celtic band Clan Ceili and with Bandella, a folk quartet with fellow astronauts Chris Hadfield and Steve Robinson, and Micki Pettit, wife of astronaut Don Pettit.

posted 02-09-2011 06:17 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by ejectr:
If the "neat little company in Massachusetts" is Verne Q. Powel Flutes...

---

posted 02-09-2011 06:50 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fezman92:
Wasn't a flute played on the shuttle before?

---

posted 02-09-2011 08:19 PM               

Astronaut Cady Coleman Shares Her Love of the Flute from Space

Astronaut Cady Coleman took time during an interview with reporters to play her flute onboard the International Space Station.

"I play the flute on the ground and it’s one of the things I love to do," said Coleman during an interview with National Public Radio. "One of the things that I think is important to do is to try to share how amazing it is up here. I relate to flute players and I just wanted them to understand what a cool place it was and how many possibilities there were to play music up here on the space station."

Coleman brought with her to the station four flute-like instruments in her small allotment of personal items. The collection includes two items from the traditional Irish music group The Chieftains - a penny whistle, which is similar to a recorder, from group-leader Paddy Moloney and a very old Irish flute from Matt Molloy. There is also a flute from Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and her own personal flute aboard.

"It is really different to play up here," Coleman added. "I’ve been having the nicest time up in our Cupola. I float around in there. A lot of the times I play with my eyes closed."

During the NPR interview she played Bluenose by Stan Rogers on her personal flute. She also played a tune for the following interview with Houston’s KHOU-TV.

Other astronauts have flown flutes in space aboard the space shuttle. Ellen Ochoa, who is a classical flutist, brought her flute on STS-56 in 1993 and took a moment to play it during an educational event. John Herrington, who was the first tribal registered Native American astronaut, brought a wooden flute with him on STS-113 in 2002. The flute was hand-carved by a member of the Kennedy Space Center Native American Intertribal Council.

posted 02-09-2011 08:27 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by dabolton:
I wonder if there is any difference in how she has to blow air from her lungs.

---

"You can't whistle because the air pressure in the suit is only 4.3 [pounds per square inch], and normal atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi, so there are not enough air molecules blowing by your lips to make a sound." — former astronaut Dan Barry, in a 2007 interview with ABC News.

posted 02-09-2011 09:46 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Fezman92:
Apart from flutes and guitars, have any other instruments been played in space?

---

And I believe the most famous example would have to be the guitar that served as the center of entertainment for cosmonauts and astronauts aboard Mir.

posted 04-17-2011 10:50 AM               

NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson Perform First Space-Earth Flute Duet

Harmony reached new heights recently as NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, circling Earth aboard the International Space Station, and musician Ian Anderson, founder of the rock band Jethro Tull, collaborated for the first space-Earth duet.

Coleman, an amateur flutist, and Anderson played a portion of the song "Bourree," an arrangement of which Anderson and Jethro Tull performed during their 1969 U.S. tour as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the moon. Coleman played her part from 220 miles above Earth late last week. Anderson played his part while on tour in Perm, Russia, during the weekend. The two parts were then joined.

Coleman and Anderson's performance saluted 50 years of human spaceflight and the anniversary of the first launch of a human to space. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed that milestone on April 12, 1961.

"Thanks Col. Catherine Coleman in the International Space Station," Anderson said following the performance. "We should remember that today's cosmonauts, scientists and astronauts are still every bit the rocket heroes they were 50 years ago."

Coleman is an avid fan of Anderson's and carried one of his flutes with her for a six-month stay aboard the station, along with her own instrument. She also carried a penny whistle and Irish flute from members of the musical group The Chieftans.

"It is really different to play up here," Coleman said earlier during her stay on the station. "I've been having the nicest time up in our cupola. I float around in there. A lot of the times I play with my eyes closed."