Astrophotography and the ISS with Don Pettit.

Summary

Podcast Summary: T-Minus Space Daily – "Astrophotography and the ISS with Don Pettit"

Release Date: December 21, 2024

---

Introduction to Astrophotography on the ISS

In this episode of T-Minus Space Daily, hosted by Maria Varmazes from N2K Networks, the spotlight is on the intriguing world of astrophotography aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The episode features an insightful interview with NASA astronaut Don Pettit, a seasoned chemical engineer renowned for his orbital astrophotography and in-space inventions. Launched to the ISS on September 11, 2024, aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS.26 spacecraft, Don Pettit serves as a flight engineer on Expedition 72, where he dedicates approximately six months to conducting scientific experiments and maintaining the space station.

---

Importance and Challenges of ISS Photography

Don Pettit delves into the significance of capturing images from space, emphasizing how these photographs serve as tangible memories and stories that bridge the gap between life on Earth and the extraterrestrial experience of living aboard the ISS.

Don Pettit [02:55]: "Images from space help tell the story to people on Earth that don't have the opportunity to go into space when your mission is over. It's photographs and memories... the photographs help complete the story of what it means for human beings to expand into space and expand into this frontier."

The challenges of astrophotography in microgravity are also discussed. Pettit highlights both the obstacles and advantages that come with photographing from an orbiting laboratory, such as managing reflections through the station's multiple window panes and utilizing the weightlessness to maneuver heavy camera equipment effortlessly.

---

Capturing Starlink Satellites

One of the standout topics in the conversation is Pettit's experience capturing images of Starlink satellites. Initially appearing unexpectedly in his imagery, Pettit decided to document these satellites intentionally once they became a recurring feature in his photographs.

Don Pettit [03:55]: "The images that I've sent down that show the Starlink satellites are ones that I intentionally did. Those bright reflections are only seen in an orbital environment from another orbit. Those reflections do not get down to Earth."

This discovery underscores the unique perspective astronauts have, observing phenomena that are not visible from the ground, thereby enriching the scientific and visual narrative of space activities.

---

Perspective from Space on Earth Events

Pettit articulates how observing Earth from the ISS provides a vastly different perspective compared to viewing events on the ground or even from an airplane. With an event horizon of about 4,000 kilometers, the continuous and expansive viewpoint allows for a more comprehensive understanding of planetary events.

Don Pettit [04:51]: "When you get on space station, our event horizon, our field of view is about 4,000 kilometers. So it really changes the perspective of what you see. You see the same thing, but it gives you a different perspective."

This broadened perspective enables a deeper appreciation and analysis of Earth-based phenomena, potentially influencing how such events are interpreted and addressed on a global scale.

---

Advancements in Photography Equipment on the ISS

The interview touches upon the recent upgrades to the ISS's photography toolkit, including new cameras, lenses, and ND filters. Pettit explains how these advancements enhance the quality and capabilities of space-based imaging.

Don Pettit [05:56]: "The newer technology is exactly that. It's newer technology and it allows us to operate and take the imagery in a manner that the older cameras would not allow."

He highlights a specific lens, a 15mm wide-angle with an F-stop of 1.5, which permits more light to be captured, thereby enabling the collection of previously unattainable imagery.

---

Influence of Microgravity on Photography Operations

Microgravity plays a pivotal role in how photography equipment is handled aboard the ISS. Pettit demonstrates with an 800mm telephoto lens and a solar filter, showcasing the ease of maneuvering heavy equipment without the constraints of gravity.

Don Pettit [07:04]: "Here you could have it on a little arm and because it is weightless, you don't need to worry about schlocking it around. You could just push it around with two fingers and do imagery in a way that you can't do on Earth with this camera and this lens system."

This flexibility allows for innovative shooting techniques that are impractical on Earth, expanding the creative possibilities for space-based photography.

---

Considerations for Shooting Through the Cupola Windows

Photographing through the ISS's cupola windows presents unique challenges due to the complex window structure designed to withstand micrometeorite impacts and maintain atmospheric pressure. Pettit describes the window assembly, which includes multiple panes, each contributing to potential reflections that must be managed during photography.

Don Pettit [08:22]: "Each one giving a bit of a reflection. And you're always trying to fight reflections off the windows in a way that you typically don't need to worry about on Earth."

Understanding and mitigating these reflections is crucial for achieving clear and unobstructed images of space.

---

Custom Tracking Devices Developed for Astrophotography

A significant highlight of the conversation is Pettit's development of a home-built tracking device known as the Orbital Sidereal Drive. This device compensates for the ISS's rapid rotation, allowing stars to remain pinpointed in long-exposure photographs—a feat not possible without such innovation.

Don Pettit [09:52]: "This device rotates once every 90 minutes. So it counteracts the rotation, attitude motion of station. And now it allows you to photograph stars as pinpoints. You could do time exposures."

The creation of both mechanical and battery-operated versions ensures redundancy and reliability, reflecting NASA's standard for mission-critical equipment.

---

Handling Photography Workflows and Sharing Data

Managing the vast amount of imagery captured aboard the ISS requires efficient workflows. Pettit relies on ground-based support teams from the Astronaut Office and the Photo TV group to handle image processing and distribution, allowing him to focus on data collection.

Don Pettit [15:50]: "I rely on these people heavily because I want to spend my time on space station collecting the primary data, the imagery."

This collaborative approach ensures that the high-quality images Pettit captures are effectively shared with the public and scientific communities without burdening him with post-processing tasks during the mission.

---

Balancing Scheduled Work and Personal Photography

While the ISS mission is meticulously planned, Pettit emphasizes that personal astrophotography is conducted during off-duty time. The structured schedule prioritizes scientific research and station maintenance, with photography serving as a personal passion project that enriches the overall mission experience.

Don Pettit [17:44]: "Most of our work is actually that we have a timeline... we take pictures during these operation tasks... but it's a labor of love and that's what astronauts spend a lot of their off duty time doing."

This balance ensures that essential mission objectives are met while still fostering personal endeavors that contribute to the broader narrative of space exploration.

---

Capturing Starship's Sixth Flight from the ISS

A notable achievement discussed is Pettit's successful documentation of SpaceX's Starship sixth flight from the ISS. This endeavor required precise timing and coordination, leveraging the ISS's orbital mechanics to capture the launch.

Don Pettit [19:17]: "We happened to be within sight of Boca Chica during the launch... it was just the way the clockwork of orbital mechanics and the schedule for launching worked out."

Assisted by fellow astronaut Suni Williams, Pettit was able to orient his equipment effectively, resulting in a series of high-quality photographs showcasing the Starship launch from an unprecedented vantage point.

---

Most Unexpected or Personally Significant Images

Among the myriad of images captured, Pettit highlights two particularly significant sets. The first involves photographing freezing thin wafers of ice to study crystal structures under polarized light, utilizing a specialized freezer onboard that reaches temperatures of minus 100 degrees Celsius.

Don Pettit [20:37]: "I did some imagery of freezing thin wafers of ice so that you could look at the interlocking single ice crystals under polarized light."

The second notable project is his ongoing work with the Orbital Sidereal Drive to achieve starfield images previously unattainable, marking a personal and technical milestone in space-based astrophotography.

---

Conclusion

The episode concludes with heartfelt appreciation for Don Pettit's dedication to astrophotography aboard the ISS. His efforts not only enhance scientific understanding but also bring the awe-inspiring beauty of space closer to those of us on Earth.

Don Pettit [21:27]: "Because when you make images like that, it really helps bring home space flight to people."

The interview underscores the symbiotic relationship between advanced technology, personal passion, and collaborative support in advancing space exploration and public engagement.

---

Produced by Alice Carruth, Associate Producer Liz Stokes, Mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester, with Original Music by Elliot Peltzman. Executive Producer Jennifer Ibin and Executive Editor Brandon Karp oversee the production, under the leadership of President Sivone Petrella and Publisher Peter Kilby.

For more insights and updates, visit N2K Networks.

Transcript

[Maria Varmazes]

You're listening to the N2K space network.

[Cloudflare Ad]

The IT world used to be simpler. You only had to secure and manage environments that you controlled. Then came new technologies and new ways to work. Now employees, apps and networks are everywhere. This means poor visibility, security gaps and added risk. That's why Cloudflare created the first ever connectivity cloud. Visit cloudflare.com to protect your business everywhere you do business.

[Maria Varmazes]

Astrophotography has long been an admired area of interest hobbyists and professionals around the world, myself included. But what is it like to take photographs from space? Does microgravity help or hinder the process of capturing images from space? And how difficult is it to share files from an orbiting lab? Welcome to T Minus deep space from N2K Networks. I'm Maria Varmazes. Our partners at NSF hosted a live downlink to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Don Pettit. Don is an American astronaut and chemical engineer best known for his orbital astrophotography and in space inventions. He launched to the International Space Station aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS.26 spacecraft on September 11, 2024 and is currently serving as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 72 crew. Don will spend approximately six months on board the orbiting lab conducting science experiments and maintaining the space station ns. Jack Beyer spoke to Don through a live downlink to the station.

[Jack Beyer]

I'm Jack Beyer from NASASpaceflight.com for T - Space. I had the opportunity to chat with astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station about the photography work that he's been doing to bring a new perspective to the world. Here's that 20 minute interview live from the International Space Station. Don, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us while you are in space. We have a limited amount of time here and I just want to jump right into question. All right with you.

[Don Pettit]

That is perfectly fine with me. Talking about imagery and astrophotography and images from space. One of my favorite topics.

[Jack Beyer]

This is the coolest thing. All right, first, right off the bat, why is ISS photography important to you and what are the challenges of taking photos in microgravity?

[Don Pettit]

Images from space help tell the story to people on Earth that don't have the opportunity to go into space when your mission is over. It's photographs and memories, which reminds me of an album from Jim Crochet. And if you don't have the photographs, all you've got are the memories and the stories you could tell. So the photographs help complete the story of what it means for human beings to expand into space and expand into this frontier.

[Jack Beyer]

Fantastic. And that's part of the reason why we love your, your sharing of this stuff so much. A follow up to that, you recently captured Starlink satellites from space and you compared them to cosmic fireflies. Did you set out specifically to capture these starlinks with that shot or was it sort of a surprise that happened along the way with some of your captures intended for one purpose, but showing another.

[Don Pettit]

Initially, the Starlink started to show up in the imagery. And then I thought, let me see if I could just photo document the Starlink. So the images that I've sent down that show the Starlink satellites are ones that I intentionally did. And let me point out the fascinating thing about these satellites. Those bright reflections are only seen in an orbital environment from, from another orbit. Those reflections do not get down to Earth. So that's the surprising thing is what are all these bright flashes? It took us a while to figure that out.

[Jack Beyer]

Excellent. How does capturing major Earth events from space change your perspective on them? And how do you think your unique point of view affects the conversation on Earth?

[Don Pettit]

It gives you more data to think about, to incorporate in your stories, in your way of life. If you view something on the ground, you could see for what, 10, 20, 30 miles is your sort of event horizon. For viewing maybe on top of a mountain you could see further. Then you get in an airplane and you can see for hundreds of miles, and that changes your perspective. When you get on space station, our event horizon, our field of view is about 4,000 kilometers. So it really changes the perspective of what you see. You see the same thing, but it gives you a different perspective.

[Jack Beyer]

Recently, new cameras, lenses, some ND filters and other equipment have been brought to the iss. Is there imagery that you can capture now that you couldn't before? And is the newer technology allowing you to better shoot your vision?

[Don Pettit]

The newer technology is exactly that. It's newer technology and it allows us to operate and take the imagery in a manner that the older cameras would not allow. And the lenses available now are faster. They could transmit more light. For example, this lens behind me here, this is a 15 millimeter wide angle lens. It looks like a telephoto lens, but it's an extreme wide angle and it is really fast. It has an F stop of around 1.5, or in the vernacular of these cinema lenses, t stop of 1.8. So it lets in a lot of light in a wide angle view and allows us to collect imagery that was not possible even on my last mission, which was 12 years ago.

[Jack Beyer]

Wow. Does microgravity affect the work that you're doing in getting these shots?

[Don Pettit]

Yes, it does, in mostly a good way. And let me demonstrate that here. I've got this huge camera system set UP and it's 800 millimeter telephoto lens with a solar filter. And this thing is a joy to work with. Here you could have it on a little arm and because it is weightless, you don't need to worry about schlocking it around. You could just push it around with two fingers and do imagery in a way that you can't do on Earth with this camera and this lens system. You'd have to have it on a big skookum tripod in order to do imagery. And here it's just a little arm or even free flow and you could get your imagery done. So there are things that we could do up here that would make many photographers envious when they're mounting their heavy gear on these stout tripods.

[Jack Beyer]

Nice. I see you're in the cupola there. Are there any considerations for shooting through the windows?

[Don Pettit]

Yes, pluses and minuses. The cupola here, it has four panes of, I'll say, transparent material. We have an outer pane which is not structural and it takes all the hits from micrometeorites. And then we have two pressure panes. And these are highly figured, highly polished flat windows that are bound an inch and a quarter thick each. And then we have an inner acrylic scratch pane to protect the pressure panes because you can imagine you don't want to be digging up the windows that hold the atmosphere in Space station, you don't want to bust a window. So we've got these acrylic scratch panes and what this does, it gives you a stack that's maybe five inches thick with four panes, that's eight surfaces each, each one giving a bit of a reflection. And you're always trying to fight reflections off the windows in a way that you typically don't need to worry about on Earth.

[Jack Beyer]

So you brought a home built tracking device up to the ISS to take photos with. Can you talk about why building your own device was needed and the sort of capabilities it brings to your photography?

[Don Pettit]

Yes. Station, when it goes around earth, it takes 90 minutes to go around Earth and it keeps the same side pointed towards Earth. So think of it, the belly button, the station stays pointed towards Earth as it goes around, and in the process of doing that, Station then rotates once every orbit about itself and that Rotation keeps you from taking long time exposures of the star. So you can make star trail pictures, but you can't have stars as pinpoints. And what I wanted to do was make a tracking system that instead of rotating once every 24 hours to counter Earth's rotation, which is what amateur astronomers do on Earth, this device rotates once every 90 minutes. So it counteracts the rotation, attitude motion of station. And now it allows you to photograph stars as pinpoints. You could do time exposures. And I've got it here behind me. Let me see if I could show you here. Here's this wide angle lens and it's on a bogan arm. And right here it's kind of mounted down on station is this device. This one is a wind up device. It has a little clock motor, a little wind up clock motor that some friends of mine built this, colleagues of mine at rit. And you wind it up and it rotates once every 90 minutes. You can speed it up and slow it down about 10% to compensate for the altitude station. And then this rotates and it allows a camera that you have on the rotation to move in the opposite direction. Station moves. Therefore stars remain fixed in your field of view. And you could do time exposures of star fields. And I've got two versions of this. One runs off of batteries. It has a little stepper motor in it. And then I've got this mechanical version.

[Jack Beyer]

Super neat. Just a quick follow up. How does getting specific gear like the tracking rig up to the station work? Do you get like a small allotment of space or weight or.

[Don Pettit]

Yeah, every crew member gets the equivalent of a large handbag. If you see what you could take on an airplane these days, carry on, say a large ish backpack, you know, carry, you know, a rud sack. You get something like that that you could put in for your personal kit. And you could put anything in it that will get through the NASA safety review. Everything you fly up is reviewed by a number of folks. And I wanted these tracking systems instead of flying mementos for family and friends. I wanted to fly something I could actually use on station to collect imagery that previously was possible. So I filled my little rug sack, my personal kit, with stuff I could use on this mission. And putting in these two drives, I call them an orbital sidereal drive. Sidereal is the normal 24 hour or near 24 hour rate that you need to make stars stationary if you're an astronomer. And so I call this an orbital sidereal drive. And it was important to me to fly two versions just in case. You know, we're NASA, we always have backups. You know, NASA engineers wear both belts and suspenders and so this was my version of that. A wind up device and then a device that runs off of batteries with a stepper motor.

[Jack Beyer]

So cool. Thank you so much for filling your rucksack with photography gear because the mementos you're giving us are the images. Next question.

[Maria Varmazes]

We'll be right back after this quick break.

[Dutch Bros Ad]

This episode is brought to you by Dutch Bros. Get stoked for all the holly jolly vibes this season at Dutch Bros. Stay cozy with returning winter faves. Hazelnut Truffle mocha and candy cane mocha. Plus the new Winter Shimmer Rebel energy drink blends up sweet cream and blue razz flavor with soft top and shimmer sprinks to keep those spirits energized all winter long. Download the Dutch Bros app to find your nearest shop. Order ahead and start earning rewards.

[Lululemon Ad]

With Lululemon. The real gift happens when your holiday checklist is complete. When you give them the coziest scuba matching set, you both get moments like this and this, this and this. This holiday Lululemon makes it easy to find last minute gifts that bring presents. Open the moment. Shop [e-mail].

[Jack Beyer]

You capture so many photos on the ISS that editing and sharing all that much data must be a challenge. What sort of workflows does used to share all the imagery while allowing you to still edit and fully execute your creative vision?

[Don Pettit]

We have support people on the ground both in the Astronaut Office and in the Photo TV group, people whose career it is to distribute and work on the imagery that we collect from space station and during the mission. I rely on these people heavily because I want to spend my time on space station collecting the primary data, the imagery. I don't want to spend my time on station sitting in front of a computer. I could do that at home. And the image processing, the heavy image processing will be done after this mission and I only do enough images processing here on station to verify that the images I'm taking are good and fall within the realm of what I want. And then I downlink everything to the ground and I don't mess with the images anymore. So the images that you're seeing on social media right now are ones that I've either sent down as raw and folks on the ground have spiffied up for me and posted through proxy posting or images that I've done a little bit of processing up here just to make sure that the imagery is okay, and then I get back using my off duty time to take more images.

[Jack Beyer]

Fantastic. So there's so much more to come when you're back on Earth. All of us love to see the photos you've taken while on the iss. How much of your photography is scheduled out as part of your work? Or are you just regularly using up every scrap of your free time to share your view with the world?

[Don Pettit]

Most of our work is actually that we have a timeline. People have thought hard and figured out how we as crews should spend our time on orbit. And as you can imagine, with all the science and engineering research going on and then the maintenance, it all has to be orchestrated. And we take pictures during these operation tasks to show what we've been doing. And they're kind of pseudo boring. Engineering pictures of clogged urine filters and things like that, all the Earth obs pictures, all the pictures that you see that shows what life is like on station, these are all done in astronauts off duty time. We typically have no time scheduled to just take beautiful pictures of Earth and show what it's like up here. But it's a labor of love and that's what astronauts spend a lot of their off duty time doing, is doing imagery, collecting the photographs that go with the memories to tell the story of what it's like up here.

[Jack Beyer]

It really makes such a huge difference. So thank you for spending your free time doing that. It's just utterly huge. Next up, you and your son documented Starship's recent sixth flight and you pulled off shooting it from the iss. Can you share some details about that experience and the challenges involved capturing it?

[Don Pettit]

Yes. Part of it is just dumb luck in terms of orbital mechanics. We happened to be within sight of Boca Chica during the launch. If the launch were delayed 20 minutes, we wouldn't have even been able to see it. But it was just the way the clockwork of orbital mechanics and the schedule for launching worked out. We happened to be overhead and then it's just a question of knowing how to use your photography equipment, which lens to use, what kind of shutter speeds, exposures, ISO, that kind of stuff, and which window to look out order to get the imagery. And I had help on that photograph, that series of photographs. Suni Williams was in the cupola with me and I was busy looking through the lens and she was basically being the spotter saying, oh, I can see it over there when I was pointing in a different direction. And so she got me oriented towards the right direction.

[Jack Beyer]

Nice. Next up, what has been the most unexpected or personally significant image or event you've captured during this mission.

[Don Pettit]

I did some imagery of freezing thin wafers of ice so that you could look at the interlocking single ice crystals under polarized light. And I happen to have access to a freezer that goes down to minus 100 degrees centigrade. And that was really a fun bit of imagery to look at the crystal structure of ice when it freezes in microgravity. That's one set of imagery. The other imagery is just what I'm working on right now, which is using this orbital sidereal drive to do starfield pictures that previously have not been possible.

[Jack Beyer]

Well, Don, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. And again, thank you so much for using your time to create images that no one has ever seen before. Because when you make images like that, it really helps bring home space flight to people. So thank you. Well, that's it. Thank you so much to NASA and Don Pettit for making this interview a possibility. It was truly a dream come true for NASASpaceflight.com welcome back, everyone. I'm Jack Beyer. Now back to T Minus Space.

[Maria Varmazes]

That's it for T Minus Deep Space, brought to you by N2K CyberWire. A special thank you to our friends at NSF for sharing this recording with us. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast. You can email [e-mail] or submit the survey in the show notes. Your feedback ensures we deliver the information that keeps you a step ahead in this rapidly changing space industry. T Minus Deep Space is an N2K production and produced by Alice Carruth. Our associate producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ibin. Our executive editor is Brandon Karp. Sivone Petrella is our president. Peter Kilby is our publisher, and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.