The first real-time Tweet from Space

22 January 2010

Today the International Space Station received a software upgrade that allows personal access to the Internet through what NASA describes as the "ultimate" wireless connection. It is this upgrade that is now allowing ISS crew members to communicate with Earth like never before.
space_tweet

Expedition 22 Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer made history today by posting the first real-time Tweet from Space. Creamer or as we know him @Astro_TJ, made the first unassisted Tweet from the ISS, which read "Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station -- the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s"

"This personal Web access, called the Crew Support LAN, takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web."

ISS crew members have been Tweeting from space for some time but this marks the first they have been able to do so without assistance. Before the new upgrade was implemented, ISS crew members would send their Tweets to Houston, where a NASA employee would post them to their Twitter profiles.

NASA