Rutan Spaceship

A Song of great social and political significance
(To be sung to the tune of Janis Joplin's Mercedes Benz)
(With both apologies and thanks to Janis)
by Chuck Divine, ex-NASA contract employee (source)

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Rutan Spaceship?
My friends all fly shuttles
We've got to get hip
Worked hard all my lifetime
No hope for space trip
So Lord, won't you buy me a Rutan Spaceship?

Oh Lord, won't you get me a space apogee?
The X Prize people are trying to fund me
I'll launch every day
Until I put up three
So Lord, won't you get me a space apogee?

Oh Lord, won't you give me a night on the Moon?
I'm counting on you Lord
That's why I wrote this tune
Prove that you love me
And get me there soon
So Lord, won't you give me a night on the Moon?

Everybody!

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Rutan Spaceship?
My friends all fly shuttles
We've got to get hip
Worked hard all my lifetime
No hope for space trip
So Lord, won't you buy me a Rutan Spaceship?

 

'Twas The Night

Traditional Christmas carol
Adapted by Phyllis Moses

'Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
While peak gusts from two-zero reached 39 knots.
And I at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
Had just settled comfortably down on my butt.
When over the radio, there arose such a clatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.

A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Asked for clearance to land at the airport below.
He barked out his transmission so lively and quick,
I could have sworn the call sign he used was "St. Nick."
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Sure that it was only Horizon's late Dash.

Then he called his position, and there could be no denial,
" This is St. Nicholas One," and "I'm turning on final."
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
A Rutan Sleigh and eight Rotax reindeer.

Continued on the original webpage

Spaceflight in Mojave

Lyrics by Mark E. Horning, Physicist, Phoenix, AZ (source)
(to the tune of 'Nuts From the Hazel Tree')

When I was young I used to watch a black-and-white TV,
and dream about the future and of mankind's destiny.
The stories that I read foretold,
of a future brave and bold
Time to watch that dream unfold,
---Spaceflight in Mojave

Chorus:
Hopes enflame, space to tame,
Man embraces distant places
Dreams reclaim, thunder and flame,
---Spaceflight in Mojave

In California desert, where the hawks and eagles fly,
Lies a spaceport, newly made, a gateway to the sky.
A place where dreams are taking flight,
Soaring unto far-flung heights,
Where the stars are shinning bright.
---Spaceflight in Mojave

Chorus

On June the 21st we watched Mike Melville win the race.
and slip the surly bonds of earth, to rocket into space.
Scrabbling for the first foothold
of spaceborn hopes and dreams untold
History's page has written Bold.
---Spaceflight in Mojave

Chorus

The longest journey starts with but a single
     step though small,
As tiny acorns will beget the oaks that grow so tall,
Sow the seeds of dreams lifelong
Following the siren song,
To the stars where we belong,
---Spaceflight in Mojave

Chorus

Final Chorus:
To aspire, ever higher,
Man embraces distant places,
Dreams inspire, thunder and fire
---Spaceflight in Mojave

Lyrics © Mark E. Horning 22-Jun-2004
Music © Catherine Faber 2000

 

Burt Rutan

A song by Kids In The Way (source)

Split the blackened sky, open flood gates wide
With just one little cry you open up your eyes
We live like whores
We're killing dreams for little boys and little girls
It's our nation, we were living for the day
On our way to devastation in the fires we play
Awakes the frozen souls, burn the idol bulls
Our lips pressed to the coal, a glowing cinder makes us whole
We wash our hands
Of all the blood from innocence that we have shed

 

Spaceship Yourself

Lyrics by Terence Chua (source)
(to the tune of "Do It Yourself" by Bill Sutton)
In honor of SpaceShipOne's successful first mission...

I wanted cheap space travel, they said that wouldn't fly
For launching stuff is dicey, that's why the price is high
I wouldn't take that answer, so I chose to build my own
For you can build a spaceship from the things you find at home!

Chorus:
Oh Lockheed, Bell and Boeing, MDC and Grumman too
Pratt and Whitney, BAE, they'll keep it all from you
They make big bucks off NASA so they never want it known
That you can build a spaceship from the things you find at home!

The first thing that I needed for my spaceship was a hull
They only came in grey or white, I found that deadly dull
I got myself some paints to brighten up the color scheme
And now I have it looking like the Mystery Machine!
(chorus)

Now next on my agenda was to find a rocket drive
Strong enough to launch the ship and still keep me alive
I found the right propellant when I scouted out the bars
Six kegs of Old Peculier that will shoot me to the sthars! *hic*
(chorus)

To navigate through space I'd need a decent stellar map
And in the end I found that the solution was a snap
It may be rough and ready but it's certain to impress
I plugged a month of horoscopes into my GPS!
(chorus)

Food supplies were tricky even though I had the beer
I couldn't drink too much or I would get too pissed to steer
I ordered out for curry - some vindaloo, of course
And now I can use methane as a backup fuel source!
(chorus)

So now my spaceship's ready and I'm just about to go
To leave our dear old Mother Earth - I'll really miss her so
You may think that I'm crazy, to fly this pile of junk
I don't need to be crazy - I just need to be drunk!
(chorus)

Yes, you can build a spaceship from the things you find at home!