Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Discovery Crew Experiences a First in Orbit Suzanne Presto March 08, 2011 The live performance from Big Head Todd & The Monsters was the first time a shuttle crew has been awakened live from Mission Control, Houston Photo: NASA The live performance from Big Head Todd & The Monsters was the first time a shuttle crew has been awakened live from Mission Control, Houston The space shuttle Discoveryâs crew experienced a first on the shuttleâs last full day in orbit. Our correspondent reports on the astronautsâ welcome wake-up call Tuesday morning. If you have to wake up for work, an acoustic solo certainly beats a buzzing alarm clock. The six astronauts on board the shuttle Discovery were awakened on their last full day in space by the song âBlue Sky,â performed live from Mission Control by the lead singer of the American rock band, Big Head Todd and the Monsters. It was the first time NASA astronauts have ever been awakened by a live musical performance from Houston. Discovery served as the inspiration for the song âBlue Sky.â Big Head Todd and the Monsters wrote it as a tribute for Discovery's return to orbital missions in 2005, two years after the space shuttle Columbia and its crew were lost in a re-entry explosion. And it was âBlue Skyâ that received the most votes in NASAâs contest to select which song Discoveryâs astronauts would wake-up to on the final full day in orbit. More than 2.4 million votes were tallied in NASA's Top 40 song contest, with âBlue Skyâ earning nearly a third of them - more than 722,000 votes. Discoveryâs Commander Steve Lindsey congratulated the band on the win and thanked them for the early morning serenade. The bandâs lead singer, Todd Park Mohr, thanked the astronauts for their courage and bravery and for inspiring creativity back on Earth. Commander Lindsey responded: "We all wish you could see what we can see when we look out at the Earth, and, hopefully, everybody will be able to do that one of these days," said Lindsay. "Hopefully sooner rather than later." The practice of waking up the astronauts with a song has been a part of the space program since the days of the Apollo program, and it looks as if it will continue through the shuttle programâs retirement this year. The public will be able to vote for wake-up songs for the upcoming Endeavour mission on NASAâs web site. The runner-up song for Discoveryâs final full workday served to wake up the crew Monday morning. The song, well known to space-watchers and spacewalkers alike, raked in more than 671,000 votes. William Shatner, star of the classic television show Star Trek, even adapted the theme song for the Discovery crew. March 8th is Discoveryâs last full day in orbit before the shuttle heads into retirement. Discoveryâs return to Earth on March 9th will not only complete its final, 13-day mission, but also mark its record 365th day in orbit. Since Discovery first launched in 1984, it has logged more than 148 million miles in spaceâ¦the final frontier.       .