Listen to David Saint-Jacques’ Music Playlist as he Does During the Pre-Launch

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum in Kazakhstan, Expedition 58 crew members Anne McClain of NASA (left), Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (center) and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency hold “launch keys” presented to them Nov. 29 during a tour of the facility. An actual key is used on launch day to begin the engine ignition sequence for the Soyuz booster rocket’s liftoff. They will launch Dec. 3 in the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

According to the Canadian Space Agency, David Saint-Jacques and his crewmates will enter the Soyuz two and half hours before launch and after the pre-launch checks are completed they will have about 40 minutes to themselves. So, what does an astronaut do when strapped into their seat in a rocket with time on their hands? Listen to music of course.

The list was compiled by music journalist Nicolas Tittley, a friend of Saint-Jacques.

Below is David Saint-Jacques’ “Before space” playlist:

  • Sleep/Swim, múm
  • Green Grass of Tunnel, múm
  • Quarrel, Moses Sumney
  • Music for 18 Musicians (Modular Version): Pulses, Steve Reich (Ensemble Signal)
  • On the Ground, Richard Reed Parry
  • Subterraneans (2017 Remastered Version), David Bowie
  • Suspirium, Thom Yorke
  • Rêver mieux, Daniel Bélanger
  • Sunday Morning (Stereo Version), The Velvet Underground & Nico
  • Nuit debout, Camille
  • Distant Sky (feat. Else Torp), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
  • Le départ, Alexandra Stréliski
  • The Great Escape, Patrick Watson
  • Ikajunga, Elisapie
  • Sail to the Moon, Radiohead
  • Flight from the City, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yuki Numata Resnick, Ben Russell, Clarice Jensen & Tarn Travers
  • Blue Moon, Beck
  • Faites monter, Alain Bashung
  • Fade into You, Mazzy Star
  • Higgs Boson Blues, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
  • Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois, Sufjan Stevens
  • Looking for Astronauts, The National
  • New Star in the Sky, Air
  • We’re Going Home, Clint Mansell
  • Décollage, Air
  • The Stars Our Destination, Stereolab
  • Major Tom (Coming Home), Peter Schilling
  • A Model of the Universe, Jóhann Jóhannsson

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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