Beyonce's new album has been topping charts since its release just a week ago but the singer has once again made headlines for a negative reason after it was discovered that transmissions from the space shuttle "Challenger" disaster had been used in one of her songs.
In the first part of Beyonce's song "XO," the singer sampled audio from the space shuttle disaster, causing former and current astronauts and their families to label the diva "insensitive."
In Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded in the air just 73 seconds after liftoff from its launch site in Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven crew members.
"Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction," said Steve Nesbitt, former NASA public affairs officer now-retired NASA public affairs officer, as the world watched the live footage of the Challenger falling to the ocean in a burning heap through the television.
Twenty-seven years later after the incident, Nesbitt's voice can be heard at the start of Beyonce's "XO" music video. Beyonce shared in the past that "XO," a song about a troubled relationship, was produced and written by Terius "The Dream" Nash and Ryan Tedder.
The short audio clip lasts only six seconds in Beyonce's music video.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News regarding the issue, Beyonce expressed her thoughts on the controversy, saying "My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster. The song 'XO' was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you."
The singer also shared that the songwriters included the NASA transmission audio as a tribute to the unselfish work of the space shuttle Challenger's crew, with hopes that the seven brave crew members will always be remembered.
However, current and former NASA astronauts, employees and family members of the Challenger's crew members were not appeased by Beyonce's statement and remarked that using the audio in a pop "mocks the crew's sacrifice and opens fresh wounds."
No further statements have been made by Beyonce and her label.
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