4th of July: NASA astronauts wish a happy Independence Day 2019 from the Space Station

The Fourth of July celebrates the birth of America and the 1776 Declaration of Independence from colonial rule. Independence Day is a time to get together with family and friends – something which is sadly not possible to do in person for two NASA astronauts orbiting 250 miles (400km) over Earth. However, the extraordinary distances involved have not deterred NASA’s Christina Koch and Nick Hague from broadcasting a heartfelt Independence Day video message home from the International Space Station this Fourth of July.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch said in her Independence Day video: “As we orbit our planet high above you, we want to take a moment and wish all Americans, at home and around the world, a very happy Fourth of July.”

Together with her fellow American Mr Hague, the astronaut struck a patriotic tone in the one minute and 45 second video.

The pair wore special American-flag-themed flight suits and spoke next to a wall festooned with the Stars and Stripes.

The astronauts’ short speech also highlighted the multitude of extraordinary space-exploration feats the US has achieved to date.

READ MORE: WhatsApp messages, texts and greetings for  Independence Day 2019

And the NASA crew also teased how exciting ISS projects will soon be announced.

Mr Hague said: “It is an incredibly exciting time for spaceflight in America.

“From the completion of the first flight in the commercial crew program to the unveiling of the bold plan to send the first woman and the next man to the moon by 2024, this is a unique moment in history in which we can cast our eyes to the sky and to the heavens and be proud to be an American.”

The two Americans make up two thirds of the current ISS crew.

The NASA pair are orbiting Earth with cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, who commands the ISS’s current Expedition 60 mission.

All three International Space Station crew will get Independence Day 2019 off, NASA officials have confirmed.

Meanwhile, their three future Expedition 60 crew-mates — NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano and cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov — will take a Fourth of July flight from Russia to their launch site, Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The trio is scheduled to blast off towards the International Space Station on July 20, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

US space agency NASA recently announced its intention to allow unprecedented commercial access to the International Space Station for space tourism.

The change paves the way for the wealthy to rocket from Earth and spend time aboard the orbiting space laboratory.

Until now, the space station has only been used for research and development.

The move is part of NASA’s effort to put the first woman and another man on the moon by 2024.

source: express.co.uk