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The Guardian: NASA's oldest astronaut celebrates 70th birthday with return to Earth
The Guardian - NASA’s oldest astronaut celebrates 70th birthday with return to Earth
Don Pettit became septuagenarian hurtling towards Earth after seven-month mission at International Space Station
Agence France-Presse in Washington
Sun 20 Apr 2025 04.31 EDT
Cake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens celebrate their 70th birthday.
But NASA’s oldest serving astronaut, Don Pettit, became a septuagenarian while hurtling towards Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
A Soyuz capsule carrying the American and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Pettit’s birthday.
Spending 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates, Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, orbited the Earth 3,520 times and completed a journey of 93.3m miles over the course of their mission.
/snip
Don Pettit became septuagenarian hurtling towards Earth after seven-month mission at International Space Station
Agence France-Presse in Washington
Sun 20 Apr 2025 04.31 EDT
Cake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens celebrate their 70th birthday.
But NASA’s oldest serving astronaut, Don Pettit, became a septuagenarian while hurtling towards Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
A Soyuz capsule carrying the American and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Pettit’s birthday.
Spending 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates, Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, orbited the Earth 3,520 times and completed a journey of 93.3m miles over the course of their mission.
/snip
Happy Birthday, Don! 🚀