Beyonce serenades shuttle crew

HOUSTON, July 16 (UPI) -- Astronauts on the final U.S. space shuttle mission got a surprise wake-up call Saturday from singer Beyonce.

In her recorded message, Beyonce serenaded the four-person crew of the Atlantis, now docked at the International Space Station, with "Run the World (Girls)," Space.com reported. She made the call at 11:29 p.m. EDT Friday, since the crew are on a night schedule.

"Good morning, Atlantis. This is Beyonce," she said. "Sandy, Chris, Doug and Rex, you inspire all of us to dare to live our dreams, to know that we're smart enough and strong enough to achieve them. This song is especially for my girl, Sandy, and all the women who've taken us to space with them and the girls who are our future explorers."

The space station and Atlantis crews also got a thank-you call Friday from President Obama, Florida Today reported. The president talked about the U.S. flag the Atlantis carried up, which was on board the first shuttle mission in 1981 and is to be left at the station for the next U.S. ship to fly there.

"I understand it's going to be sort of like a 'capture the flag' moment here for commercial spaceflight," Obama said. "So good luck to whoever grabs that flag."