KSC-2011-4892

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Employees at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida gathered in the Press Site parking lot, with the towering Vehicle Assembly Building in the background on June 27, 2011, to record a wake-up call to Atlantis' STS-135 crew members on NASA’s last voyage aboard a space shuttle. Use of music to awaken astronauts on space missions dates back at least to the Apollo Program, when astronauts returning from the moon were serenaded by their colleagues in mission control with lyrics from popular songs that seemed appropriate for the occasion. Usually picked by flight controllers or by crew members’ friends and family members, most wake-up calls are musical, but sometimes include dialog from movies or TV shows. The recording is usually followed by a call from the CAPCOM in Mission Control, wishing the crew a good morning but because this is the final mission for the Space Shuttle Program many of the NASA centers were given the opportunity to choose a phrase that most represents their best wishes and gratitude for a successful mission. The common element of all these selections is that they promote a sense of camaraderie and esprit de corps among the astronauts and ground support personnel. Photo credit: Cory Huston