Reported byScott Harris
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -- No strangers to technology, NASA astronauts go through months of training to master the workings of the space shuttle and International Space Station.
Amid that, they have also been learning a lot of other new technologies to communicate with a whole new world.
IN DEPTH
Endeavour’s Mission | STS-130 Facts
NASA has quickly become quite experienced in the world of social media.
The space agency has already held six different “tweetups,” allowing people who follow NASA news on Twitter to interact with astronauts and experience some things previously not open to the public.
NASA also has over 55 Twitter accounts for their different programs and facility, and 17 different astronauts have been using Twitter, themselves.
“We have recognized over the last year or so that it’s a great way to get the word out to the general public as to what we’re doing in the space program,” said Commander Jeff Williams, of Expedition 22 aboard the International Space Station. “The space program, obviously, belongs to the people, and the people need to know what we’re doing.”
Astronauts have tweeted about their pre-launch experience, then once aboard the station, they have had to send their message down to Mission Control, who then tweeted the messages for them.
Now, however, it’s all different. The International Space Station has gone wireless.
The first tweet sent directly from space came Jan. 22 by astronaut Timothy “T.J.” Creamer.
Since then, hundreds of Twitter users have asked questions -- and gotten answers -- from space.
All that means the crew of shuttle Endeavour will now be able to tweet from the space station.
Mission Specialist Nicholas Patrick is the designated tweeter of STS-130.
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