Last shuttle crew gets personal Rocket Man wakeup from Elton John

Jul 13, 2011, 20:09 GMT

Washington - The orbiting crew of Atlantis, making the final shuttle flight before NASA retires the fleet, were awakened Wednesday by Elton John's Rocket Man, followed by a personal greeting from the iconic pop singer.

Elton John thanked both the astronauts and all the NASA staff who have worked on the shuttle during the programme's three-decade history.

An astronaut on board, in response, told flight controllers in Houston: 'Elton John, music legend - wow, that is absolutely fantastic. We are absolutely honoured that you took the time to join the crew this morning and wake us up.'

The astronaut pointed out that the crew of the International Space Station, where Atlantis is docked, had joined the shuttle to listen in on the celebrity wakeup.

'I think it just illustrates the far-reaching both legendary 30 years of shuttle flight and also the amount of people globally that have been affected by the shuttle programme itself,' he said. 'Thank you so much, Elton, for taking again the time to join us this morning.'

According to NASA records, it was the fourth time in the shuttle programme's history that the 1972 hit Rocket Man was beamed from Earth as a wake-up message for an orbiting crew.