August 04, 2009 John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0602 john.yembrick-1@xxxxxxxx James Hartsfield Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 james.a.hartsfield@xxxxxxxx MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-147 NASA ASTRONAUT SENDS FIRST TWEETS FROM SPACE STATION HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut and U.S. Army Col. Tim Kopra has become the first International Space Station crew member to use the social media tool Twitter to discuss living and working in orbit. Kopra (@Astro_Tim) recently joined the Expedition 20 crew after arriving at the orbiting laboratory July 17 aboard space shuttle Endeavour. He is set to return to Earth on the STS-128 mission, which is targeted to launch Aug. 25. To follow Kopra on Twitter, visit: www.twitter.com/Astro_Tim Kopra will provide followers with a unique perspective as an Expedition 20 flight engineer and member of the Army. He is an Army aviator and West Point graduate. He periodically will answer questions submitted on the Army's Web site. To submit questions and view Kopra's answers, visit: www.goarmy.com/space This is Kopra's first spaceflight. He completed his first spacewalk July 18 during the STS-127 mission. Kopra is in orbit with station Commander Gennady Padalka and Roman Romanenko -- both Russian cosmonauts -- and NASA astronaut Mike Barratt, European Space Agency astronaut Frank DeWinne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk. For a detailed biography of Kopra, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/kopra-tl.html -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
