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

HOUSTON -- 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.

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.

Reporters are invited to cover the Tweetup from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Media
representatives planning to attend should contact Tammie
Letroise-Brown at 281-483-4942.

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

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