Happy 4th of July greeting from the International Space Station

American astronauts aboard the International Space Station sent a Fourth of July greeting Thursday from the orbiting platform hundreds of miles above Earth.

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"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," NASA astronaut Christina Kock said in a social media post.

“It’s an incredibly exciting time for space flight 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,” Koch’s colleague, astronaut Nick Hague, said.

The astronauts aboard the ISS aren’t missing out on holiday fare, either. They’ll celebrate with their own version of a picnic.

“Planning a ‘cookout’ tonight. Beef patties, corn, blueberry cobbler and lemonade are all on the menu – tasty and ready in under 15 minutes,” Hague said.

“Hoping to catch some fireworks out the window later,” he said.

Watching fireworks from near-Earth orbit can’t be a bad way to spend the Fourth of July.

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