Music for Building Rockets

Cover photo from 3dsculptor/Adobe

I’m a NASA nerd. I love the idea of space flight and deeply wish I could go up there.

Apollo 11 landed on the moon when I was two-and-a-half years old. Needless to say, I don’t remember seeing Neil Armstrong take his lunar stroll. I’m pretty sure it was Apollo 17 (the final moon landing) mission I consciously saw first in 1972.

Whichever one it was, I was captivated. My dad even bought me a little toy “rocket” when I was five or so. This is probably the only gift from him I stilll have. It resides in my office.

I actually saw this in a museum! And I’ve had one in my possession for more than 50 years! I guess that explains the museum thing.

For years, I kept my eye on most any space shuttle launch and the construction of the International Space Station. The explosion of the shuttle Challenger was one of the biggest gut punches I’ve ever experienced. Still, had I been asked, I would’ve gone up the very next day.

The loss of Columbia was painful, too. And I was absolutely devastated when the shuttle program came to an end. People seem to have lost their taste for space. (Is that a song title? Maybe so!) I, for one, can’t wait to see people continue their journey into the next frontier. I think there would be a lot fewer social issues if we had a consistent manned space program. It’s something we can all come together on.

During the pandemic, I needed to keep my hands busy and work on maintaining my concentration (stupid ADD). That’s what drove me to LEGO.^ I knew I didn’t have the imagination to build anything from scratch, so I found myself looking at LEGO kits. And damned if I didn’t find a model of the Apollo rocket, the Saturn V. Once built, it would be almost three feet tall! I was in!

The space shuttle Discovey and the Saturn V used by Project Apollo

The model was a lot of fun to build. My mind was occupied and my focus sharpened. Once it was sharpened to the point where I stayed up until 4 a.m. to finish a section! That might have been a bit much.

Since finishing that LEGO model, I’ve also built the space shuttle Discovery (which came with a Hubble telescope), the Apollo 11 lunar module, an astronaut during a space walk, and the ISS. I had a great time, but I figured that was the end of it.

Until I saw Artemis.

I’m so excited for NASA’s next phase to get us to the moon and beyond (even if their flight schedule is slower than molasses running uphill in January). When I saw the LEGO model, I knew I had to build her! Santa was kind enough to accommodate me.

I don’t know how long I spent building this model. I was just enjoying myself. The hours flew by without me noticing.

But this is supposed to a site about music, isn’t it? Well, I’m coming to it!

Corny as it may be, I had the urge to play some space-oriented music while I built Artemis. It started out innocently enough, but in true Ced fashion, one album led to seven more!

So, I offer a few albums you, too, can use to help you build rockets. Or you can just chill out and listen.

BILL CONTI, The Right Stuff. This is how it started. I just thought it would be cool to hear the soundtrack from my second favorite movie of all time+ while I built Artemis. The score is so epic in scale and the ending is triumphant. It’s hard not to get fired up (so to speak) while working on a rocket.

GUSTAV HOLST, The Planets. It’s an almost obvious choice. The grit and determination of “Mars,” the uplifting soundscape of “Jupiter,” the ethereal nature of “Venus” … all of the moods of space exploration even though the suite was written long before man even considered exploring the stars. It’s a perfect backdrop for construction.

MATT MORTON, Apollo 11. In addition to being a terrific documentary (there’s no narration, as archival footage is used to document the voyage and first steps on the moon), this soundtrack sounds the most like an exploration to the moon and back. The intensity, isolation, and triumph are all here. This is probably my favorite album of the lot.

MICHAEL KAMEN, From the Earth To the Moon. My favorite miniseries behind Band of Brothers also has a fantastic score. The opening theme does it to me every time. Combined with the images shown, one can’t help but be excited about the possibility of going to the moon. Sign me up!*

JAMES HORNER, Apollo 13. More jukebox than true music score. Horner’s work is solid, but it’s accompanied by clips from the movie and popular music from the era. It’s fine, but not exactly what I was looking for.

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS, The Martian. Another solid movie, another solid soundtrack. It does a great job of covering the triumphs and tragedies Mark Watney experienced while alone on Mars, as well as the people on Earth who worked to rescue him. The music puts you in a good place and makes you want to dig in and work!

JUSTIN HERWITZ, First Man. I must confess, I don’t think a lot of this movie. There’s just not enough there there, if you know what I mean. The soundtrack is also a bit … odd. It has an almost avant-garde feel to it. That’s not what I want to accompany me to the moon, but your mileage may vary.

HANS ZIMMER, Interstellar. Positively epic! The movie is incredible, as its concept. Zimmer is right there for it, as he is on so many other soundtracks. He puts you inside the spacecraft, encourages you to look at the window, then take in everything you see. What’s out there overwhelms your eyes while the music does the same to your ears. It’s a remarkable journey from beginning to end.

The music played, and I built. When all was said and done, I had this before me.

She now resides in my office with Discovery and the Saturn V.

I have a corner dedicated to NASA. It brings me joy.

There I was, thinking I’d done all the building I had available. Them I remembered all the Star Trek starships I bought months ago that need to be built. But I can’t start until I find somewhere to put them!