First Tweet From Off-Planet Nominated For Online Award

Astronaut Mike Massimino (pictured) sent the first ever Twitter message from space back in May, with the message "From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!"

That message has been nominated by the Internet news blog "Mashable" as "Tweet of the Year" in the Third Annual Open Web Awards. 

Massimino, who Tweets under the name @Astro_Mike, sent the Tweet just after launch aboard space shuttle Atlantis on its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. He continued to update his followers, which now exceed 1.2 million about the mission, 140 characters at a time.Anyone with a Twitter, or Facebook account can vote in the Open Web Awards.  Massimino is up against some stiff competition, including Tweets from Organizing America, which manages @BarackObama for the President, a photo Tweet of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, an announcement of the 1 billionth download of the Firefox web browser, and the final tweet from an Iranian user who covered and protested the country’s controversial presidential election, sent in June.

FMI: http://mashable.com/