Nasa rebukes Beyoncé

US singer Beyoncé has been rebuked by Nasa for using an audio clip from the Challenger shuttle disaster in a new song.
"XO", from Beyoncé's new album, begins with a six-second clip taken from television footage as the shuttle exploded and fell to earth on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew. Steve Nesbitt, a Nasa public affairs official, is heard saying: "Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction."
Nasa issued a statement saying: "The Challenger accident is an important part of our history; a tragic reminder that space exploration is risky and should never be trivialised."
Beyoncé had said the audio was included "in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten". But Keith Cowing, a former Nasa employee, described the sample as "inappropriate in the extreme".
"XO" is the first radio single from Beyoncé's new album, which was released without advance publicity on December 16.
 

Source: Guardian