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WORDS BY JILL MICHAELS
MOONLIGHTING TO THE MAX

''We're serious about space flight, and we're serious about music.''

The crew of the Discovery STS 114 mission to the ISS.

The tongue-in-cheek musicians of Max Q aren't sure if they're professional amateurs, or amateur professionals. Offstage, in their day jobs as NASA astronauts—the current members are all actively involved in NASA's space program at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston—they're decidedly professional. Onstage, it's a different matter entirely for this, probably the world's most unusual rock band.

The unlikely band kicked off in early 1987. Robert Gibson, George Nelson and Brewster Shaw started meeting secretly in an aircraft hangar to play guitars and sing. Nelson was then training for STS-26, NASA's return to flight after the Challenger disaster. Music gave him a stress outlet from the rigors of the shuttle simulator. After the recruitment of drummer Jim Wetherbee, the foursome performed their first gig.

Gibson named the band after the engineering term "max. q", where q is the dynamic pressure from the atmosphere against an ascending spacecraft. He joked that, like a launched shuttle, the band made lots of noise—but no music.

Eighteen years later, and Max Q is still flying with a new lineup: Chris Hadfield, Tracy Caldwell, Steve Robinson, Chris Ferguson, Ken Cockrell and Gregory H Johnson. Hadfield remembers his audition for the band 10 years ago: "I was told, 'Learn bass'. It was that simple!"

Cockrell then made a fateful visit to the JSC astronaut gym, where the band's musical equipment is stored and practice is staged. "Susan Helms [then the band's keyboard player] was in training for her ISS [International Space Station] flight," he says. "Chris Hadfield shouted over to me, asking if I could play keys. I said, 'I've only played piano'. That was that. It was a case of 'Good! You're in the band.'"

Band members are often their own roadies, so Robinson's conscription was rapid. "I own a truck. That did it," he says. Good job the NASA missions are planned with more precision and care.

Beyond the jokes, the astros never forget the human element of space flight. In a poignant echo of the band's original raison d'étre, Robinson is training for the shuttle's return to flight this summer. STS-114 will be the first mission since the Columbia disaster. "Training takes over your brain," he reveals. "Max Q enables me to get away from the space technology, the procedures, the stress and the incredible responsibility. It's another, different challenge."

Stephen Robinson rocks out in zero gravity.

The band belt out a collection of old classics such as "Gimme Some Lovin", "Hurt So Good", "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!", "Kryptonite", "Let 'Er Rip" and "Margaritaville", as well as some original numbers. A JSC employee penned "Another Saturday Night" about flying in space and missing family on Earth.

Bookings, when they do appear, are usually at small parties, weddings, charity events, local bars or NASA space centers. While Max Q is not going to top the Billboard charts, they've jammed in some of the world's most unusual venues. Hadfield performed aboard Mir during the STS-74 mission, and Cockrell and Carl Walz played while STS-111 Endeavour was docked to the ISS.

In January, Max Q played for beer at the outpost during the 100-day party for ISS Expedition 10. While the band members on Earth did their thing, astronauts Leroy Chiao and Salizhan Sharipov, aboard the space station, phoned down and were patched through for a virtual mingling with attendees.

Feet on the ground: Max Q on stage.

Max Q is the house band for the American Institute of Architects' annual Galveston beach party and sandcastle building contest, scheduled this year for June 3. They will play in League City, Texas on the Fourth of July and the annual Ballunar Liftoff Festival at the Johnson Space Center during the last weekend of August. Not wanting to get out of practice, Ferguson and Burbank may even jam during the STS-115 space mission.

Robinson pegs the essence of Max Q, "We're serious about space flight, and we're serious about music."

Despite their exalted day jobs, the egos of these moonlighters couldn't be more down-to-earth. Caldwell wisecracks, "We're not a visual band. We don't wear flashy clothes, and we don't spit on the audience." Good job too—in zero gravity that could end up being a messy affair.

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