Astronauts Finally Get Internet Access on Space Station, Send First Tweet From Space
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Space tweets just got real with a new NASA software upgrade for the International Space Station. Now astronauts manning the orbital outpost can finally browse the Web and post Twitter updates directly, without having to first e-mail the tweets to the ground.

During periods when the station is actively communicating with the ground using high-speed Ku-band communications, the crew will have remote access to the Internet via a ground computer. The crew will view the desktop of the ground computer using an onboard laptop, and interact with it remotely.

T.J. Creamer, a flight engineer with the space station’s Expedition 22, showed off his mastery of netizen lingo by posting his first unassisted Twitter update on Friday.

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! 🙂 More soon, send your ?s”

Fellow Twitter users can holler back @Astro_TJ. Or check out more from Creamer, ISS Commander Jeff Williams and Soichi Noguchi at http://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts/.