Artsat

Graz

The first art experiment in the history of Russian space travel. Carried out as part of ‘Austromir’, the first space flight of an Austrian. The sculpture represents the cosmonaut’s message coded in the Blue Danube waltz while flying over Austria on 06.10.1991. © Richard Kriesche

When the MIR space station flew over Graz, it sent a trigger signal to transmit a text message from Franz Viehböck. This was combined with music, resulting in an alienated Danube waltz. Acoustic parameters from the alienated sound were recorded using spectral analysis and stored on a PC.

The message was visualised on a silent piano, as if an imaginary hand of the cosmonaut was playing it. After the space station had left the reception area, a robot processed the data and welded the encrypted message onto a stainless steel plate with a diameter of 3.5 metres. This work of art, ‘ASCII-Himmel’ (1991), can be seen on the Schlossberg in Graz and is a reminder of the historic radio station at the site.