Math faculty member Joel Glickman has always been fascinated by space flight. Next week, he’ll get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see one of the final Space Shuttle launches up close.
Here’s how Joel describes how he came upon the opportunity and what he expects to see:
“I witnessed my first space shuttle launch in April of this year and found out that NASA sponsored a special VIP program using Twitter. It is called the NASA Tweetup. Users of the social networking service Twitter have an opportunity to sign up for the NASA Tweetup and be selected for a two-day event which culminates in unprecedented access to the shuttle launch. NASA has set up a special tent for us just outside the Vehicle Assembly Buliding (VAB) which is where the shuttle / booster stack is assembled before it is slowly tractored to launch pad 39A. If you’ve ever watched TV coverage of the launch, you’ve probably seen the big countdown clock.
We will be parked right near this clock and will be among the closest human beings to the launch itself, other than the astronauts themselves. To give you an idea of where we will be situated, take a look at this map.
On Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, will we be meeting astronauts, administrators and NASA engineers. We will also be treated to a live demonstration of Robonaut, a fully robotic astronaut that will be making its way to the ISS space station soon.”
Here is some more info about this experience: www.nasa.gov/connect/tweetup.
Published: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000 by s.glaude