Stephen Hawking's ashes have been laid to rest at Westminster Abbey on Friday.

A speech by the late physicist was set to a piece of music, which was beamed into space after the service.

The composition is by Vangelis, who wrote the "Chariots of Fire" theme, and was broadcast by the European Space Agency.



Stephen Hawking's voice has been beamed into space as a "message of peace and hope" to the universe as his ashes were laid to rest on Friday.

A speech from the late physicist was set to an original score by composer Vangelis, who wrote music for films including "Chariots of Fire" and "Blade Runner."

The European Space Agency beamed it from its satellite dish in Cebreros, Spain, to the nearest black hole, which is called 1A 0620-00. It is part of a binary star system 3,500 light years from earth.

The entire piece is about six and a half minutes long, with a voiceover by Hawking in the middle, European Space Agency senior adviser Mark McCaughrean told CNN.

The European Space Agency beamed Hawking's voice from its satellite dish in Cebreros, Spain. European Space Agency/Flickr

It isn't clear exactly what the voiceover will say. The Vangelis piece will be played to guests at Friday's service, and be released to the public at an unspecified date, CNN reported.

Hawking's family, friends, and 1,000 members of the public attended a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey, London, which started at midday local time on Friday.

The service featured readings from people including actor Benedict Cumberbatch and astronaut Tim Peake.

Here's Cumberbatch reading a verse from the Bible at the service:

At the service, Hawking's ashes were interred between fellow British scientists Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

A memorial stone with one of Hawking's most famous equations was also placed on top of his grave.

Hawking's daughter Lucy described the music to accompany the physicist's words as a "beautiful and symbolic gesture that creates a link between our father's presence on this planet, his wish to go into space and his explorations of the universe in his mind," according to the BBC.

She added: "It is a message of peace and hope, about unity and the need for us to live together in harmony on this planet."

Professor Günther Hasinger, the European Space Agency's director of science, said: "It is fascinating and at the same time moving to imagine that Stephen Hawking's voice together with the music by Vangelis will reach the black hole in about 3,500 years, where it will be frozen in by the event horizon."

Stephen Hawking died at home on March 14, 2018, after a long battle with neurodegenerative disease ALS. He was 76.