It's safe to say that singer/songwriter Matt Maher’s music is out of this world. His latest album Alive Again orbited aboard space shuttle Atlantis, servicing its final scheduled journey after almost a quarter-century of missions.
Maher’s music has become a staple carry-on item for NASA astronaut, Mike Good, who has officially selected Maher’s song “Alive Again” as one of his “wake-up songs” -- not only reviving Good from an outer space slumber but the rest of the STS-132 and International Space Station crew as well.
This marks the third year in a row that Maher’s music has visited the cosmos. In June 2008 and 2009 Matt’s previous album Empty & Beautiful found its way onto shuttle Discovery for NASA Mission STS-124 with astronaut Ron Garan and aboard Atlantis STS-125 with Mike Good.
Garan carried Jaci Velasquez's album Llegar a Ti with him on a recent trip to space.
Garan flew onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on a recent 14 day mission that included nearly 9 days docked at the International Space Station, 220 miles above Earth. The disc orbited Earth 218 times, traveling over 5.7 million miles and reaching speeds over 17,000 miles per hour (Mach 25).
Following the mission, Garan sent the disc that he had carried into space to Velasquez, along with a Certificate of Authenticity and a photo of Garan holding the CD on board the International Space Station.
"There are so many milestones in my career that I could never have anticipated," says Velasquez. "And this is definitely one of them. To hold this CD in my hands and to know that it's literally been around the world is incredible. I'm so honored."
Throughout her career, Velasquez has sold over 3.5 million albums, garnered 3 RIAA certified Platinum recordings, 3 RIAA certified Gold recordings, 16 #1 radio hits and has graced more than 50 magazine covers.
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