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NASA beams Missy Elliott song to Venus
Missy Elliott lyrics blasted off into space as NASA transmitted her song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” 158 million miles from Earth to Venus, the space agency said Monday.
It took nearly 14 minutes for the hip-hop track to reach its destination. The Missy Elliott song is the second song ever transmitted into deep space, following up on the Beatles’ “Across the Universe” in 2008.
“My song ‘The Rain’ has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment,” Missy Elliott said in a social media post. “The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”
There actually is rain on Venus, though because temperatures reach 860 degrees Fahrenheit, the drops, which fall from clouds made of sulfuric acid, evaporate “back into a never ending toxic cloud,” according to NASA.
Rolling Stone ranked “The Rain” one of its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2021. The 1997 song debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 129,000 copies sold in the first week of release.
The singer is in the middle of her “Out of This World” tour. Venus is her favorite planet, according to NASA.
“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries,” said Brittany Brown, director of the Digital and Technology Division of NASA’s Office of Communications. “Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting.”
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California sent transmission into space at 10:05 a.m. PDT on Friday, according to NASA. They used the space agency’s Deep Space Network, which has an array of giant radio antennas, to beam the song toward Venus. The song was transmitted at the speed of light.
While the Beatles and Missy Elliott songs are the only ones that have been transmitted into deep space, music has been launched into outer space before. “The Sounds of Earth,” also known as the “Golden Record,” was sent into space on Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1977 as part of a message “intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials,” according to NASA. The phonograph record was a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk with music from Bach, Chuck Berry, Mozart, Beethoven and more.
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A picture is emerging of the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle at former president Donald Trump on a Florida golf course Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was 300-500 yards away from Trump when members of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted him, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Routh was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said.
Members of the Secret Service detail opened fire at Routh, according to law enforcement officials. It’s not clear if Routh fired any shots. Bradshaw said a witness saw a man jumping out of the bushes and fleeing in a black Nissan. The car was pulled over and the driver detained and identified as the suspect. Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about Routh:
Stephany Matat / AP
A decades-long criminal history
Routh’s most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.
Records show his problems with the law go back to the 1990s and include less serious charges, like writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with a felony — possession of a weapon of mass destruction — according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records.
Between 2002 and 2010, Routh was also charged with a number of misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run accident, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, records show.
Suspect criticized Trump online
Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.
His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.”
He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.
A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.
Ukraine supporter
Routh was passionate about fighting for Ukraine, even traveling overseas to fight in the country’s war against Russia in 2022.
“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X.
In one post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor in 2023, and Newsweek Romania in 2022. He was quoted about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, though it wasn’t clear whether he had succeeded.
“This is about good versus evil,” he told Newsweek Romania.
contributed to this report.
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