Blue Danube waltzes into space to mark Strauss' 200th

Operators aimed the dish at Voyager 1, the world's most distant spacecraft more than 24 billion kilometres away. Travelling at the speed of light, the music was expected to overtake Voyager 1 within 23 hours.

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra performed the Blue Danube during the space transmission, which actually sent up a version from rehearsal. It's part of the yearlong celebration marking the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II, who was born in Vienna in 1825. 

The Strauss space send-off also honours the 50th anniversary of ESA's founding.

Launched in 1977 and now in interstellar space, each of the two Voyagers carries a Golden Record full of music but nothing from the waltz king. His Blue Danube holds special meaning for space fans: It's featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.