The ISS crew happened to find itself directly above SpaceX’s Starship launch on Tuesday, and that meant only one thing for NASA astronaut Don Pettit.
NASA astronaut and current space station inhabitant Don Pettit seems to have the luck of the stars. During SpaceX’s sixth test flight of its massive Starship rocket from Boca Chica, Texas, on Tuesday, the International Space Station (ISS) just happened to be passing directly above — some 250 miles above, to be precise — giving keen photographer Pettit the perfect opportunity to capture the Starship’s launch.
Pettit shared a photo of the event on his X account on Thursday, along with the comment, “We happened to be overhead!”
Pettit’s image shows the trail left by the Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor engines as it powers the Starship spacecraft to orbit, casting a shadow over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico as it goes.
