Wed, Aug 05, 2009
He'll Be Aboard The Space Station For 6 Weeks
U.S. Army astronaut Col. Tim Kopra Tuesday became the first
International Space Station crew member to communicate through
Twitter. Col. Kopra sent the following message, "What a fun shuttle
mission - especially with 13 people on board station. Life here is
amazing - still getting used to floating!" He will send periodic
updates to his Earth-bound followers on his daily life in
space.
Col. Tim Kopra
Kopra, an Austin, TX native, is living and working on the
International Space Station as a member of Expedition 20. He
arrived at the space station aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on
July 17, 2009. Kopra conducted the first space walk of his career
on July 18, 2009.
Kopra is serving as a flight engineer on the space station for
the next six weeks and will be conducting various experiments. He
will return to Earth on the next space shuttle mission to the space
station scheduled for late August.
"Col. Kopra personifies Army values and the opportunities that
the Army provides to its Soldiers," said Lt. Gen. Benjamin C.
Freakley, Commanding General of U.S. Army Accessions Command,
responsible for Army recruiting. "Col. Kopra used many of the tools
available in the Army - including a fully-funded undergraduate
education at West Point, advanced degrees and aviation training -
to help him succeed in his career at NASA. We are happy to see him
harness the latest social media technology through Twitter to
communicate an experience that only a select group of people have
had the chance to accomplish."
Col. Kopra's Twitter messages from space are the latest in the
U.S. Army's continued growth into social media. Internet users can
submit a question to Col. Kopra to answer by video while he is in
space online, and site visitors can also link to other Army
astronauts' social networking pages.
Col. Kopra is an Army aviator and graduate of the United States
Military Academy at West Point. In 1998, the Army assigned Col.
Kopra to NASA's Johnson Space Center, a unique opportunity provided
by the U.S. Army. He is one of four active duty soldier astronauts
in the Army detachment at NASA, and he credits the Army for giving
him the leadership skills and education he needed to become an
astronaut.
The NASA Army detachment is part of the Army Space and Missile
Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.
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