NASA Is Organizing A "Tweetup" In Houston For The STS-132 Mission

NASA has really embraced the concept of social media, and if you don't yet know what a "Tweetup" is ... ask any nearby teenager. But the social media phenomenon extends beyond the Internet, and NASA Twitter followers will have the chance to personally go inside the heart of a space shuttle mission at the agency's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. The agency is hosting a unique Tweetup on Wednesday, May 19 during Atlantis' STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis is set to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, May 14 at 1420 EDT.

"We're inviting the public to share in the excitement of human spaceflight during one of the last three scheduled space shuttle missions," said Stephanie Schierholz, social media manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA is providing this behind-the-scenes access to give our Twitter followers an understanding and appreciation of all the work that goes into a successful shuttle launch and mission."

NASA randomly selected 100 individuals on Twitter from a pool of registrants who signed up on the Web. The event will start at Space Center Houston (SCH) where participants will have the opportunity to meet astronaut Jeff Williams (@Astro_Jeff) and tweet about NASA hardware.

After lunch, Twitter followers will take a tour of JSC; view mission control and astronauts' training facilities; and speak with flight directors, trainers, astronauts and managers.

FMI: www.nasa.gov/tweetup