SpaceX Astronaut, Who Is Also a Violinist, Leads ‘Special’ Charity Musical Performance from Orbit

Mar. 15, 2025

Sarah Gillis.Photo:Polaris Program/X

Polaris Program/X

A SpaceX astronaut has helped take music to new heights, recording a very special song in space to support kids in need.

The song was “recorded in spaceand sent to Earth” through SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.

“As we travel around our beautiful Earth on this five-day mission, we wanted to share this special music moment with you,” Gillis said in a clip shared on SpaceX’s page onX(formerly Twitter).

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sept. 10, 2024.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty

Gillis, who serves as Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX, was “raised from a young age to be a classical violinist,” according to Polaris Dawn’s website.

But while in high school, the Colorado native’s mentor and former NASA astronaut Joe Tanner “encouraged her to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering” — which she pursued in college alongside a dance degree.

In 2015, Gillis started an internship at SpaceX, and later moved into a full-time position with the astronaut training program. But her passion for music did not subside.

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Now, Gillis’ passions for music and space are meshing on her latest spacewalk with the “Harmony of Resilience,” which was “created with the hope of inspiring the next generation to look towards the stars.”

“This partnership is grounded in a shared belief in the power of human resilience and pursuit of extraordinary goals,” Polaris Dawn said in a statement on its website.

SpaceX Astronaut Sarah Gillis performs the ‘Harmony of Resilience’ while in space.Polaris Program/X

The astronauts on thehistoric Polaris Dawn missionwent about 870 miles from Earth, making them the farthest crewed space mission since the Apollo 17 moon mission in 1972, according toVoxandSpace.com.

Two astronauts on the crew completed a commercial spacewalk on Thursday, testing out new, slimmer space suits in the process, according toThe Guardian.

source: people.com