NASA astronaut Don Pettit celebrates 70th birthday with return to Earth
NASA astronaut Don Pettit is carried to a medical tent shortly after landing. (Supplied: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
In short:
Don Pettit has returned to Earth on his 70th birthday, becoming one of the oldest serving American astronauts.
The NASA astronaut, who spent 220 days in the ISS and orbited the Earth 3,520 times, landed back on Earth in Kazakhstan on Saturday local time.
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The oldest person to fly in orbit is still John Glenn, who flew on a Nasa mission when aged 77.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit has returned to Earth on his 70th birthday, becoming one of the oldest serving American astronauts.
Pettit landed back on Earth in Kazakhstan on Saturday at around 9.20pm local time, after departing the international space station (ISS) aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft.
The NASA astronaut, who has spent 220 days in the ISS and orbited the Earth 3,520 times, was accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
CBS and BBC says the journey makes him the US's oldest active-duty astronaut.
The oldest person to fly in orbit is still John Glenn, who flew on a Nasa mission in 1998 when aged 77.
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area in Kazakhstan. (Supplied: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Pettit used his time in space to conduct research about in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advancing water sanitation technologies, exploring plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigating fire behaviour in microgravity.
This was Pettit's fourth spaceflight after having served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 71 and 72.
He has logged 590 days in orbit throughout his career.
According to NASA officials at the landing site, Pettit is doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth.
ABC