NASA astronaut Don Pettit come at the International Space Station ( ISS ) in September on his 4th orbital deputation in 22 years . Besides working on various scientific discipline projection on the space - free-base facility , Pettit is also known for his knifelike interest in photography , and he on a regular basis shares his impressive efforts — includingrivers , cloud , star trails , andhigh - speed ballistic capsule — on X and Instagram .
Pettit — at 69 , he ’s NASA ’s oldest serving astronaut — has just taken some time out of his busy schedule to chat about his picture taking .
involve about his recent imagery showingglinting Starlink satellitesthat he depict as looking like “ cosmic Pyrophorus noctiluca , ” Pettit said it guide a while to work out the origin of the flashes that they were seeing ( it was the sun reflect off the satellite ) before he resolve to photograph and document the phenomenon .
Pettit also noted how updates to the ISS ’s tv camera equipment over the years have changed the way he shoot , and how political program like X and Instagram get him more easy partake his work equate to when he first journey to orbit in the early 2000s .
Commenting on how microgravity stipulation affect his picture taking , Pettit establish off a with child - looking 800 mm telephotograph lens system that he described as “ a joyousness ” to work with . Why ? Because in space , it weighs hardly anything , so he ’s able to handle it with relief . “ There are many thing we can do up here that would make many photographers envious when they ’re they ’re mounting their arduous gear on these these tripods , ” Pettit say .
The American astronaut also talked about capturing images from the distance post ’s seven - windowpane Cupola module , and discussed hisbarn door trackerinvention that permit him to take sharper double of metropolis lights thanks to the tool ’s ability to compensate for the ISS ’ movement relative to the Earth ’s Earth’s surface .
On the field ofhis amazing photoshowing SpaceX ’s Starship rocket launching on its sixth test flight from Texas last month , Pettit put it down to “ dumb destiny ” for being in the right spot at the right meter , append that if the launch had been delayed by 20 minutes , he would n’t have been capable to see it at all .
Once he do it that the post was going to be passing over SpaceX ’s launch website , Pettit say it was “ just a question of knowing how to apply your your picture taking equipment , which genus Lens to habituate , what kind of shutter speeds , exposures , ISO , that variety of stuff . ” He also gave a shout - out to fellow NASA astronaut Suni Williams , who he said represent as his watch by point out the launch as Pettit was setting up his photographic camera .
For more insights into Pettit ’s brilliant photographic work aboard the ISS , check out the entire 20 - min consultation in the telecasting imbed at the top of this varlet .
