{"id":10018,"date":"2024-09-11T19:54:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T11:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-astronaut-don-pettit-makes-fourth-trip-to-the-international-space-station\/"},"modified":"2024-09-11T19:54:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T11:54:49","slug":"nasa-astronaut-don-pettit-makes-fourth-trip-to-the-international-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-astronaut-don-pettit-makes-fourth-trip-to-the-international-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA astronaut Don Pettit makes fourth trip to the International Space Station"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
NASA astronaut Don Pettit is seen in quarantine, behind glass, during a press conference, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 a the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Image: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An astronaut and avid photographer journeyed back to space for a fourth time on Wednesday. NASA astronaut Don Pettit, first ventured to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 6 in November 2003 and last returned from a trip to the orbiting outpost on July 1, 2012.<\/p>\n

Pettit departed for the ISS on the Soyuz MS-26 mission on Wednesday, Sept. 11, alongside Soyuz commander Alexey Ovchinin and fellow cosmonaut Ivan Vagner. This began the fourth flight for Ovchinin and the second for Vagner.<\/p>\n

Liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome happened at 9:23 p.m. MSK (12:23 p.m. EDT, 1623 UTC).<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, onboard, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Image: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During prelaunch interviews on Aug. 16, Pettit described being in space as his \u201chome away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time you go into space, it\u2019s a little different. Things have changed since your last visit,\u201d Pettit said. \u201cLike a cowboy that wants to be on a horse out in the range, I\u2019m an astronaut that needs to be sitting on a rocket and flying in space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that they\u2019re on orbit, the space station will soon transition from Expedition 71 to Expedition 72. That will be made official with the departure of Soyuz MS-25 and its crew: Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and Tracy Dyson.<\/p>\n

Pettit takes credit for driving the design of the mission patch that will represent Expedition 72. He said he was inspired by the simplicity of the Expedition 1 patch, which led to the forthcoming design.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told the NASA graphic designer to make an Expedition 1-type patch, make it round instead of rectangular, but bring the configuration of the space station up to date,\u201d Pettit said. \u201cAnd he did that, Sean Collins did. And he even put the iROSA solar panel upgrades on the profile of station in their proper location. So, I like the simplicity of this patch.\u201d<\/p>\n