David Bowie Dead: Astronaut Tim Peake Pays Tribute To 'Space Oddity' Singer

Major Tim Has Paid Tribute To The Original Major Tom

British astronaut Tim Peake, stationed on the International Space Station, has paid tribute to David Bowie who has died age 69, following an 18-month battle with cancer.

Peake tweeted: "Saddened to hear David Bowie has lost his battle with cancer – his music was an inspiration to many."

It was Bowie's legendary Space Oddity lyrics that echoed in the House of Commons, when Peake successfully lifted off from Kazakhstan in December.

Bowie's death was confirmed by his publicist today morning and an announcement on the singer's site read:

January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with...

Posted by David Bowie on Sunday, January 10, 2016

Two years ago, astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded a cover of Space Oddity while aboard the International Space Station.

The out-of-this-world performance racked up an impressive 23,489,187 views on YouTube.

At the time, Bowie gave a nod of recognition to the cover and tweeted about it:

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