Space jams: Hear what the Crew-2 astronauts listened to on their way to the launch pad

Part of planning a historic mission to space means accounting for every minor detail, including the tunes.

NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, along with JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, members of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission, launched in the SpaceX Crew Dragon atop the Falcon 9 rocket Friday at 5:49 a.m. from Kennedy Space Center.

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Before they were on their way to the International Space Station for a six-month stay, there are a few things that had to happen here on Earth.

One of those things is the drive in a pair of Teslas to launchpad 39A, where their spacecraft was waiting. They drove off starting at 2:34 a.m. and arrived at 2:54 a.m. This was also when they got to wave goodbye to their family members.

To mark the momentous occasion, the astronauts prepared their playlists in advance. Well, everyone except Hoshide, who didn’t make his song choice public.

Overall, the astros seem to have selected rock as their preferred genre.

McArthur went with some alternative selections dating back to the 1980s through 2000 from big names like Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, The Foo Fighters and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Kimbrough stayed in that same ballpark, though a bit more contemporary, and even threw in a space-themed number: “Drops of Jupiter” by Train. Other picks include “City of Blinding Lights” by U2 and “Black and White” by Niall Horan from One Direction.

Pesquet, who has a saxophone waiting for him on the ISS, went all out. He hinted on Sunday after completing a dry dress rehearsal that he had all his songs selected and his Twitter followers begged for him to share what he’d be listening to.

ESA heard those cries and put together a Spotify playlist with 23 tracks, many of them in French, Pesquet’s native tongue.

Still, there are classics many American listeners will recognize, such as “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses and an abbreviated, less theatrical, acoustic cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

You can listen to Pesquet’s full playlist below.

Follow live updates on launch day at ClickOrlando.com/space.