"That was definitely an E-ticket!"

July 29, 2015 10:15 AM

"Roger roll, Discovery." The sweet, sweet sounds of NASA mission control audio snippets, edited for your sampling and ringtone pleasure as MP3 and M4R downloads.
posted by Laminda (19 comments total)

Yeah, I've been using "Houston, we have a problem" as a custom alert tone for text messages. And I like the Juno one too.
posted by RedOrGreen at 10:19 AM on July 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I used to have the Sim City alert (titled WHOLECITYDISASTER.mp3) because I filtered out mentally all talky ones, including "Houston, we have a problem"and a "LIFTOFF!"

So, uh, for sampling, what's the license for these? I'm very literally asking for a friend.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:28 AM on July 29, 2015

I believe all NASA-produced material is in the public domain.
posted by LogicalDash at 10:30 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Space is so cool.
posted by Fizz at 10:34 AM on July 29, 2015

NASA's media usage guidelines.
posted by Laminda at 10:36 AM on July 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hooray, another excuse to play all of Random Access Memories just for the NASA bits in the beginning of the final track, Contact.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:50 AM on July 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Houston, we have a problem

(From the mission transcript)

CC : 13, we've got one more item for you, when you get a chance. We'd like you to stir up your cryo tanks. In addition, I have shaft and trunnion --

CMP: Okay

CC : -- for looking at the Comet Bennett, if you need it.

CMP: Okay. Stand by.

(thump)

LMP: Okay, Houston - -

CDR: I believe we've had a problem here.

CC : This is Houston. Say again, please.

CDR: Houston, we've had a problem. We've had a MAIN B BUS UNDERVOLT.

Had. Not have. "Houston, we've had a problem."
posted by eriko at 10:52 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Totally using the "we've got a... good picture of Steve" one as some kind of phone sound.
posted by palomar at 10:55 AM on July 29, 2015

CDR: I believe we've had a problem here.

You didn't do the sound effects from Apollo 13 that showed the wiring problem.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:59 AM on July 29, 2015

Totally using the "we've got a... good picture of Steve" one as some kind of phone sound.

Okay, for me personally, that may be the most useful sound ever.
posted by The Bellman at 11:04 AM on July 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Public Service Broadcasting's latest album is built around NASA samples
posted by brilliantmistake at 11:26 AM on July 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

SomaFM has a great Mission Control station mixing downtempo electronic music with NASA audio.

For a change of pace try their (oddly more relaxing) SF 10-33 which layers fire and police radio over beatless ambient.
posted by zenoli at 12:16 PM on July 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

If you like Mission Control/Space-Sounds with your music, you should check out soma.fm's "Mission Control"
posted by symbioid at 12:17 PM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm disappointed that the Apollo 11 launch audio here omits the wonderful phrase early in the sequence: "Astronauts report it feels good." Fortunately it is available in WAV format here.
posted by exogenous at 12:44 PM on July 29, 2015

The always awesome Apollo Flight Journal and Lunar Surface Journal have a lot of Apollo radio transcripts and audio available.

As previously mentioned, most NASA media is public domain, and much of it is also available at Archive.org.

Also, a version of the quindar tones is available on Wikipedia.

For all of these, a simple audio editor like Audacity could be used to trim, change format/encoding, etc., and there are plenty of online tools for making ringtones.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 1:12 PM on July 29, 2015

PSB's album is pretty amazing-- I was just listening to it within the last hour on the way back from lunch. I usually start with "E.V.A." and work my way to "Go!" though today I started with "Fire in the Cockpit," which begins with about 30 seconds of radio static, the heavily pregnant silence on the radio channel as Grisson, Chafee, and White have stopped transmitting from the cockpit of Apollo 1. The Public Service Broadcasting guys have a talent for mixing this kind of audio with their music, compressing the events to create a terrific tension; sometimes, as in "Go!" and "The Other Side," there's a release of that tension. Sometimes, as with "Fire...", there is none.

Also, previously on the Blue.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:21 PM on July 29, 2015

You forgot the KSPChatterer tag.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:33 PM on July 29, 2015

provo 33
posted by judson at 7:10 AM on July 30, 2015

How to Build a Mission Control Desk
posted by exogenous at 5:33 AM on July 31, 2015