GREENBELT, Md. — On Twitter, messages of 140 characters may seem confining. Mike Massimino is finding a different type of space even more limiting — outer space.
The astronaut, on the shuttle Atlantis, is sending messages to the social networking site from 350 miles up — and what’s cramping his tweets is time, not the character limit.
On Earth, Massimino tweeted about having dinner, eating lunch, working out in the gym and watching a movie. In space, he just doesn’t have the time to tweet the routine.
He averaged about four tweets a day before launch. In orbit, he’s down to one a day.
Still, Astro_Mike, which is his Twitter name, did make history. He’s the first person to tweet from space: “From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!”
His tweets come to Earth indirectly. He sends them in e-mails to Johnson Space Center in Houston, and officials there post them.
The Associated Press
