NASA Twitter Followers Will Fly Shuttle Simulator During Tweetup at Johnson Space Center

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Jun 27, 2011, 04:53 ET

HOUSTON, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- So you think you can pilot the space shuttle? NASA will give 30 of its Twitter followers a chance to test their skills at space shuttle ascent, rendezvous or landing aboard the same simulator astronauts use to train for their missions.

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NASA's Johnson Space Center is hosting a daylong Tweetup on July 19, during space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. Participants will get a behind-the-scenes tour at Johnson and a hands-on opportunity aboard the shuttle simulator to take control in a training scenario. The tour includes a look at the Mission Control Center and astronauts' training facilities. Visitors also will have the opportunity to speak with flight directors, trainers, astronauts and managers.

Atlantis is targeted to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:26 a.m. CDT on July 8. If it launches as planned, the Tweetup will take place one day before the last orbiter of the shuttle fleet makes its final landing.

Tweetup registration opens at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28, and closes 24 hours later at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29. NASA will select 30 individuals randomly from the online registrants.

For more information about the Tweetup and to register, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/tweetup

To follow NASA programs and astronauts on Twitter, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/connect

For more information about space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

SOURCE NASA