posted 03-27-2024 02:59 PM               

This thread is intended for comments and questions about the Soyuz MS-26 mission to the International Space Station.

posted 03-27-2024 03:00 PM               

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit to Conduct Science During Fourth Mission

During his fourth mission to the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 71/72 crew. After blasting off to space, Pettit will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare crew for future space missions.

Pettit will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September 2024, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio will spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory.

NASA selected Pettit as an astronaut in 1996. A veteran of three spaceflights, he made integral advancements in technology and demonstrations for human exploration. He served as a science officer for Expedition 6 in 2003, operated the robotic arm for STS-126 space shuttle Endeavour in 2008, and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Pettit has logged 370 days in space and conducted two spacewalks totaling 13 hours and 17 minutes.

The Expedition 6 crew launched on STS-113 space shuttle Endeavour expecting to return on STS-114 space shuttle Discovery after a two and a half month mission. Following the space shuttle Columbia accident that grounded the shuttle fleet, the crew returned on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft after five and a half months, landing in Kazakhstan. On his next 16-day mission, STS-126, Pettit helped expand the living quarters of the space station and installed a regenerative life support system to reclaim potable water from urine. During Expedition 30/31, Pettit also captured the first commercial cargo spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon, using the robotic arm.

A native from Silverton, Oregon, Pettit holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Prior to his career with NASA, Pettit worked as a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

posted 09-11-2024 09:03 AM               

Live NASA coverage begins today (Sept. 11) at 11:15 a.m. EDT (1555 UTC) for a 12:23 p.m. (1623 UTC) launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

posted 04-19-2025 09:59 AM               

Watch as three International Space Station crew members—NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner—begin final preparations for their return to Earth aboard Soyuz MS-26, currently targeted for Saturday, April 19.

(In local time, MS-26 will touch down on Sunday, April 20: Pettit's 70th birthday!)

After entering the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, the spacecraft's hatch will close at approximately 2:25 p.m. EDT (1825 UTC); the spacecraft is scheduled to undock at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 UTC).

posted 04-19-2025 04:26 PM               

Watch as NASA astronaut Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, undock from the International Space Station and begin their voyage back to Earth.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is set to undock from the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 UTC), heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 UTC or 6:20 a.m. Kazakhstan time, Sunday, April 20) on the steppes of Kazakhstan, southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan. Landing will occur on Pettit's 70th birthday.

posted 04-19-2025 05:43 PM               

After 220 days and 93.3 million miles in space, astronaut Don Pettit is returning to Earth on Saturday, April 19.

After undocking from the International Space Station alongside cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, Pettit's Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft will begin its deorbit burn at 8:26 p.m. EDT (0026 UTC April 20) and touch down on the steppes of Kazakhstan around 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 UTC April 20).

posted 04-20-2025 01:15 AM            

Hope all is well.

posted 04-20-2025 01:35 AM               

Don Pettit is doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth.

What's expected for him? In his own words during an April 16 pre-departure interview, "This is a physiological thing. It affects different people different ways. Some people can go out and eat pizza and dance. When I land, it takes me about 24 hours to feel like I'm a human being again."

posted 04-21-2025 03:42 AM               

Home sweet Houston. Don Pettit has officially returned home from the space station after completing his fourth spaceflight, totaling 590 days in space.