Monday, April 18, 2011

MECO in Space

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Happy news for Space Tweeps today! We are all a-tweep and a-twitter this morning, after astronaut Ron Garan tweeted from @Astro_Ron a photo of MECO in the International Space Station! What a treat from Expedition 27/28!

If you aren't familiar with Meco but recognize the logo, you may have seen it in my blog navigation bar... and all through my Picasa and Facebook, you'll find carriers of little stuffed MECO birdies. That mascot does get around!

I keep my little patch on my laptop... and how awesome to see one in the cupola of the ISS, in low Earth orbit!

Click for the original @flyingjenny

Ron, of course, started the newly active Fragile Oasis blog, where he and fellow astronauts currently in space are keeping us all updated on ISS activities -- and invited some of their Russian co-workers to serve as guest-bloggers for our entertainment as well.

He caused something of a stir by setting his auto-reply to "currently off the planet" when he launched, and it's never a disappointment to any of us when an astronaut with a sense of humor inspires folks to keep up with missions. The fact that he is also tweeting and collaborating with others in the space twitter community is really something to see!

Space Tweep Society
I've been sadly remiss in posting on the Space Tweep Society lately, because of course I'm always writing on my own blog... but it remains one of my favorite web sites, and has proven invaluable when networking to find other space enthusiasts. It's also a great place to hear about space-related events all over the country.

Definitely check out Flying Jenny's great forum and join the Tweep Society if you are interested in meeting other space program employees, astronomers, journalists, astrophysicists, scientists, educators, and space geeks. It's a real nerd-rush when we bump into one another at NASA Tweetups, having only RT'd in cyberspace beforehand.

Score one in weightlessness for the Tweeps! Thanks, Ron! :)