Wed, Oct 07, 2009
Tweets From Orbit Are Increasingly Popular
Move over, CNN. Step aside, Ashton Kutcher. The first
astronaut to tweet from space has passed another social media
milestone. NASA's Mike Massimino, known as @Astro_Mike on Twitter,
now shares his daily experiences with more than a million followers
on the micro-blogging service.
Massimino flew in May aboard the final space shuttle mission to
service the Hubble Space Telescope. He began a Twitter account
about a month before his launch, provided updates throughout his
time in orbit and continues to tweet about his post-flight
experiences and the life and work of an astronaut.
"I am thrilled that so many people have been following and
responding with such wonderful comments," Massimino said. "I tweet
because I feel very lucky to have, what in my opinion, is the best
job in the world. I've learned that there are so many people around
the world who really love the space program and have a heartfelt
interest in space travel -- just like me."
Mike Massimino
Since Massimino's flight, many other astronauts have begun to
share insights of their experiences on Twitter. They offer varied
perspectives of both training on Earth and flying in space. Among
the NASA astronauts now active on Twitter:
- Jeff Williams (@Astro_Jeff), space station Expedition 21 flight
engineer and future station commander who arrived at the station
early Friday. He will provide updates, including video and still
imagery, about his six-month stay in orbit.
- Expedition 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott (@Astro_Nicole),
also aboard the station, is providing insights of her time in
space.
- Astronauts and twins Mark (@shuttlecdrkelly) and Scott
(@stationcdrkelly) Kelly, slated to command the space shuttle and
the International Space Station, respectively, next year, are
sharing their unique perspectives with the Twitter community -- and
with each other -- as they train at locations around the
world.
- Astronaut Jose Hernandez (@astro_jose) began NASA's first
bilingual Twitter account in July about his preparation for last
month's STS-128 shuttle mission. He tweets about his post-flight
activities in English and Spanish.
More astronauts flying in space and training on Earth are
expected to begin tweeting about their experiences in the near
future.
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