NASA shared video on Monday, July 6, showing July 4 fireworks over Los Angeles as the International Space Station passed above the United States. The footage turned a ground-level holiday into an orbital view. Three Americans aboard the station, including Jessica Meir, marked the Fourth of July from about 260 miles up.
Jessica Meir on the ISS
Meir posted, “Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America.” She also wrote, “Wishing all a safe and celebratory 4th of July.”
That message matters because it came from an astronaut living and working on the International Space Station while the holiday unfolded below. The station has hosted astronauts from around the world for more than 25 years, and NASA says more than 280 spacefarers from 26 countries have visited it.
Los Angeles fireworks from orbit
The video showed bursts of fireworks lighting up Los Angeles while the station moved overhead. The firework display was visible from space, but it was seen from an orbiting laboratory rather than from the ground where the celebration took place. NASA says Artemis II passed Apollo 13's 248,655-mile record sits in a different part of the agency’s recent orbital work, but this clip is the more immediate public-facing moment.
NASA described the station as part of a global partnership that includes Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. The station’s height of about 260 miles explains why a city holiday can register as a bright pattern against the dark below.
Crew-13 and September
Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev are due to depart in September after Crew-13 arrives. Chris Williams, Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will stay aboard until replacements arrive later in July. NASA advances Nasa Swift Telescope Rescue Mission for June launch shows another active mission timeline, but here the practical takeaway is simpler: the crew rotation keeps the station staffed while July turns into the next handoff.
The unanswered detail is basic but important for anyone trying to read the clip closely: NASA did not explain how many fireworks were visible or exactly how the video was captured.
