Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'

Final preparations for tomorrow's space shuttle launch include inspecting Atlantis, briefing the six-person crew, and making sure followers of NASA's Twitter feed can see from where they're sitting. The first 100 people to register for the event received 2-day passes that include an in-person look at the launch. "I'm certain it will be one of those 'top moments' of my life," says an attendee from Kansas.

"It's bringing on the next generation who like to communicate in this kind of way and form their social networks this way," mission specialist Bobby Satcher, a physician who tweets as Astro_Bones and ZeroG_MD, tells Space.com. "I'm excited that there are a lot of people who are twittering that will be following the mission." (More Atlantis Space Shuttle stories.)