ZZ Top are currently on tour and while in Houston for a gig, bassist Dusty Hill decided to stop by NASA Mission Control.  There, the rocker had a chat with Astronaut Commander Michael Fossum – which in and of itself is no big deal – except that Fossum is now aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Astronaut Michael Fossum, now on his way to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-02M along with his fellow astronauts and cosmonauts aboard got a sneak preview of a track that is slated to be in part of ZZ Top’s, as yet untitled, forthcoming album.

The sound of music, yet another time-honored trademark of a Soyuz launch, provided temporary entertainment for the crew moments before blastoff. About an hour before the rocket’s first two stages ignited, the crew nestled in their custom-fitted seat liners rocked out inside the descent module of the vehicle poised at the tip of the rocket.

ZZ Top offered a track entitled “Flyin’ High” from the new album, the band’s first studio recording since 2005, to be played in honor of the crew’s loved ones. An excerpt from the song’s lyrics, “Flyin’ high, I’m gonna touch the sky,” resonates with the Soyuz trajectory and docking at the International Space Station.

via NASA - Rocket Rock: Soyuz Crew Gets a Sendoff Song from ZZ Top.

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