NASA Twitter followers wait to watch launch in Cape Canaveral

Some of the 150 space fans, Twitter enthusiasts who gathered to watch the Endeavour launch.

On March 15, NASA (aka @NASA) offered 150 of its 1,019,243 followers on Twitter  to join them in Florida to watch the Endeavour shuttle launch.

The Tweet read: ”You could see a space shuttle launch in person at a #NASATweetup.”

Within 24 hours, more than 4,100 of NASA’s Twitter fans applied for that special back-stage pass to Friday’s launch.  NASA officials picked 150 fans to attend and put together this Twitter list of the attendees:  NASA Tweetups STS-134 Launch.

Reading through the Tweets from this group of NASA enthusiasts gives us a glimpse at citizen journalism at its most enthusiastic.

Photo Tweeted by Clara Moskowitz, senior writer for SPACE.com and LiveScience.com

Early on Friday, the #NASATweetup team shot photos of each other in space suits, were entertained by actor and apparent NASA fan @SethGreen, and did lots of Tweeting with NASA staff and even some of the astronauts.

@ClaraMoskowitz, whose Twitter bio says she is a Senior Writer for SPACE.com and LiveScience.com, Tweeted a photo of a couple who became engaged early in the day at the countdown clock.  Others retweeted her photo later, after the launch was delayed, saying “She said Yes, NASA said No.”

I knew the launch was to be delayed before it was officially announced because some in the #NASATweetup crowd reported that minutes before the Endeavour crew reached  the launch pad, their vehicle turned around and headed back to the operations building.

There were lots of sad Tweets after the launch was delayed.

And then plenty of messages about scrambling to see if they could wait it out until Monday, keeping hold of that backstage pass to aerospace history. NASA gave these Twitter fans a front-row seat, but the participants had to pay their own way and had been instructed to make flexible travel plans.

This is the fourth time NASA has invited its Twitter followers to experience a space shuttle launch. NASA calls the Tweetup “an opportunity to learn more about NASA, explore NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and experience a space shuttle launch.”

It’s also an opportunity for NASA to spread the word about its programs and generate enthusiasm through the very influential social media audience.

@CarsonSkinner: "This might be the saddest photo I've ever taken. Hoping for Monday!"

Tweetups are definitely public relations opportunities, but is this launch event citizen journalism?  I think so, yes, perhaps.

Admittedly, there was more discussion about how cool it was to be at the press conference than actual news broken from the conference.

But news can happen.  And on Friday, there were 150 extra people on hand with their own reporting tools in their hands.

In its Tweetup package, NASA told participants that “launching humans into space is a very complex business, and the safety of the crew is NASA’s number one priority. Hundreds of different factors can cause a scheduled launch date to change many times.”

Let’s hope a date change is the most newsworthy thing the #NASATweetup participants see. And let’s hope  a successful launch early next week is the most exciting thing they have to report.

There were reminders all around NASA that events can take an unexpected turn.

One tweet late in the day from @AllanManangan who says he “Tweets about space and its exploration, science and technology, food, the news, marksmanship, and my life in no particular order” said:

“No #Endeavour launch today, but we wish our own “royal couple” well: Mark @ShuttleCDRKelly and Gabrielle @Rep_Giffords! #STS134 #NASATweetup“