Kelly Clarkson Soulfully Performs National Anthem For NASA's SpaceX Launch In Video

Jun 02, 2020 by apost team

Pop star Kelly Clarkson performed the Star Spangled Banner virtually from her Montana ranch ahead of NASA’s planned SpaceX Crew Dragon launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 27. While the Wednesday, May 27 launch was a failure due to weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center, the Crew Dragon capsule successfully took off on May 30, marking the first time that NASA astronauts have launched in a commercially built and operated spacecraft on US soil.

In the lead up to the May 27 launch, which ended up being postponed until May 30, Clarkson took to Twitter to wish astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley well on their journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

“I’m over the moon about being asked to participate in #LaunchAmerica 😏… get it? I love space jokes. 🚀😆 The Demo-2 launch is happening now and @NASA is live tweeting it!! Safe travels to everyone on board!” the American Idol star wrote to her more than 12 million followers on Twitter.

apost.com

Pre-launch coverage which included Clarkson’s performance — which you can watch here — aired live on SpaceX’s and NASA’s website along with many other platforms including NASA Television, according to ABC News.

Fans from across the world seemed to enjoy Clarkson’s performance, praising the singer’s rendition on Twitter. Popular replies read: “The anthem was beautifully done. Thank you Kelly!” and “Beautiful.  Made me cry. I'm such a patriotic sap.”

And NASA certainly seemed to approve, captioning Clarkson’s video, writing:

“@KellyClarkson's performance of the national anthem for #LaunchAmerica = ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.”

Following bad weather on NASA’s first launch attempt, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft got another chance on the weekend. And luckily everything went more or less as planned with Behnken and Hurley blasting off strapped into a Crew Dragon capsule affixed to a powerful Falcon 9 Rocket, as CBS News reports.

The crew subsequently arrived and docked at the ISS on Sunday. The mission — officially called SpaceX Demo-2 — will last between six weeks and four months. While the Crew Dragon capsule is, as CBS News reports, certified for four months in space other factors will affect the mission’s length, including the weather in the Atlantic Ocean splashdown zone and how the capsule actually fairs in space.

"This is a dream come true for me and everyone at SpaceX,” said Elon Musk, chief engineer at SpaceX in a NASA press release. “It is the culmination of an incredible amount of work by the SpaceX team, by NASA and by a number of other partners in the process of making this happen. You can look at this as the results of a hundred thousand people roughly when you add up all the suppliers and everyone working incredibly hard to make this day happen.”

What do you think of Kelly Clarkson's rendition of the National Anthem? Did you watch the SpaceX launch? Let us know and pass this wonderful performance on to pay tribute to astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley!