Astronauts celebrate July 4th in Space; See Pics

Since 1982, Americans have made it a tradition to send a human spacecraft to space, and as the years passed, they began living and working aboard space stations, turning this into an annual event. Every year, Independence Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm by crew members from various nations in orbit. Till date, 73 Americans have celebrated Independence Day in space, eight of them twice, each in their own unique style.

The 35th U.S. human spaceflight carried astronauts Thomas K. ‘TK’ Mattingly and Henry W. “Hank” Hartsfield to space and then brought them back to Earth later in the day to a rousing welcome by the President of the United States in on July 4, 1982.

It took nearly 10 years for US to find found themselves in orbit on July 4. Seven astronauts of STS-50 had completed about half of their 14-day USML-1 mission on July 4, 1992.

Three years later, during the historic STS-71 mission, 10 people orbited the Earth on July 4, 1995, as the space shuttle docked with the Mir space station for the first time.

In 1996, Shannon W. Lucid was the lone American on the Mir 21 crew and she celebrated the Fourth of July by wearing distinctive Stars-and-Stripes socks.

C. Michael Foale went on a mission on July 4, 1997 as the resident NASA astronaut aboard Mir.

In 2001, James S. Voss and Susan J. Helms of Expedition 2 became the first NASA astronauts to spend the Fourth of July aboard the space station. They also sent an “out of this world” birthday message to America, played during “A Capitol Fourth” celebration in Washington, D.C.

For the very first time, American crewed spacecraft liftoff like a giant birthday candle on July 4, 2006.

In 2010, three NASA astronauts, Douglas H. Wheelock, Tracy Caldwell Dyson, and Shannon Walker, celebrated the Fourth of July aboard the space station.

In 2013, the 4th of July was celebrated by Expedition 36 astronaut Christopher J. Cassidy and Expedition 36 astronaut Karen L. Nyberg in space. While Cassidy chose to run in the Four on the 4th road race in his hometown of York, Maine while Nyberg celebrated the day by icing cookies in the colors of the American flag.

On July 4, 2015, NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly recorded a Fourth of July message for Earthbound viewers.

In 2017, astronauts Jack D. Fischer and Peggy A. Whitson shared a whimsical video on social media, showing their patriotic attire in various poses.

Expedition 56 astronauts Andrew J. “Drew” Feustel, Richard R. “Ricky” Arnold, and Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor spent the special day in 2018.

For Independence Day 2019, Expedition 60 astronauts Tyler N. “Nick” Hague and Christina H. Koch recorded a video message for Earthbound viewers.

Expedition 63 astronauts Christopher J. Cassidy, Douglas G. Hurley, and Robert L. Behnken wished Americans a happy Fourth of July in 2020 and looked ahead to future missions to the Moon and beyond.

On July 4, 2021, Expedition 65 astronauts K. Megan McArthur, R. Shane Kimbrough, and Mark T. Vande Hei wished everyone a Happy Fourth of July and looked forward to future exploration missions to the Moon.

Expedition 67 NASA astronauts Kjell N. Lindgren, Robert T. Hines, and Jessica A. Watkins spent the holiday aboard the space station. Lindgren and Hines recorded a video message wishing everyone a happy Fourth of July holiday on July 4, 2022.

Expedition 69 NASA astronauts Francisco “Frank” C. Rubio, Stephen G. Bowen, and Warren W. “Woody” Hoburg recorded a Fourth of July greeting from the space station in 2023.

Six NASA astronauts onboard the space station for Independence Day were onboard on the mission in 2024.