Photo: NASA Headquarters / NASA/Bill Ingalls / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Donald Pettit might be my favorite kind of overachiever. Born in Silverton, Oregon, a University of Arizona chemist and engineer turned astronaut, he refuses to be merely brilliant. He invented the Space Cup, the first object ever patented in orbit, and shoots breathtaking astrophotography from the station, treating microgravity as both a lab and a canvas. The fact that he was an Eagle Scout fits perfectly with that steady, curious temperament. NASA can hang all the service medals it likes, but what wins me over is the playful inventiveness, the man who turned figuring out how to drink coffee in space into real engineering. He swapped stargazing for looking back down.
Overview
Donald Roy Pettit (born April 20, 1955) is an American astronaut and chemical engineer best known for his orbital astrophotography and in-space inventions such as the Space Cup, which received the first ever patent for an object invented in space.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Donald Pettit
- Name (Japanese)
- ドナルド・ペティ
- Reading
- どなるど・ぺてぃ
- Born
- April 20, 1955 (age 71)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Goat
- Origin
- Silverton, Oregon, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- astronaut / chemist / engineer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Silverton High School
- University
- University of Arizona
Awards & achievements
- 2010 NASA Exceptional Service Medal
- 2012 NASA Space Flight Medal
- 2003 NASA Distinguished Service Medal
- Eagle Scout
- Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration"
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Astronaut — see all → · Chemist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.