Space Exploration
Alumnus Becomes First to Use Internet in Space
Timothy (TJ) Creamer SM '92
MIT alumnus Timothy (TJ) Creamer SM '92 recently became the first astronaut to utilize a new Internet connection to tweet live from space.
"Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station—the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s" was the Twitter message posted by Creamer on January 22, 2010.
The message was made possible by a new system called the Crew Support Local Area Network, which allows astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to access the Internet through existing communication links.
Previously, tweets from space were emailed to Mission Control in Houston and then posted to astronauts' Twitter accounts. Although astronauts had access to email, videoconferencing, and the ability to make Internet protocol phone calls, they could not previously access the Internet from space.
Creamer was launched aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 20, 2009, and docked with the ISS two days later. Creamer will return to Earth aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in May 2010 after spending six months in space.
His Twitter address is Astro_TJ.
Creamer's flight aboard the International Space Station represents an exciting start to what promises to be a big year in space for MIT.
In February, Creamer will be joined by two colleagues with MIT backgrounds, Nicholas Patrick SM '90, PhD '96 and Stephen Robinson, who was a visiting engineer in the MIT Man Vehicle Laboratory from 1993 to 1994. STS-130 is planned for launch on February 7, 2010, aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Nicholas Patrick will participate in three extravehicular activities to support the delivery of the Tranquility module and Cupola observatory to the ISS.
In May, astronauts Dominic (Tony) Antonelli '89 and Stephen Bowen ENG '93, OCE '93 are scheduled to fly on STS-132 aboard space shuttle Atlantis. They will deliver the Russian Mini-Research Module to the ISS.
In July, astronauts Edward (Mike) Fincke '89 and Gregory Chamitoff PhD '92 will be launched aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-134 mission. Endeavour's primary payload is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics experiment developed by MIT Professor and Nobel Laureate Samuel C. C. Ting that will be used to search for dark matter and antimatter while operating from the ISS in Earth's orbit.
In November, astronaut Catherine (Cady) Coleman '83 will be launched on her third space mission, this time aboard the Soyuz TMA-25 from Baikonur as a member of the ISS Expedition 26 crew. She will spend six months aboard the ISS and will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-25, landing in Kazakhstan in May 2011. Coleman will become the first MIT alumna to make a long-duration space mission.
By John Tylko '79
Published January 26, 2010
Related info
Alumnus Tim Creamer Visits Space for First Time
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