November 18th, 2009

Having had time to reflect (but mainly sleep) i think i’m in a good position to do a full write up on the nasatweeup.

A brief background on the competition/event can be found in this post.

So i got approved and travelled with @adam_horn, and as far as we can work out we were the only two representatives of the United Kingdom to attend. Two or so weeks prior to departure we met up in a delightful coffee shop (Yea ok, a Starbucks) to make sure we weren’t murders, as the internet is supposedly full of them.

Painfully, we had to wait for NASA to confirm the launch date before booking flights, so as not to be stuck with tickets for the wrong date. In order to keep the costs down, we flew indirect, with a connecting flight at JFK. This however, is all rather boring information. Rather than continue on to talk about the rental car, the in flight wifi and various other such things, i’ll skip to the good stuff.

We arrived at Kennedy Space Center at approximately half 7 in the morning. With jet lag on our side this was pretty easy stuff as it felt like midday. After picking up our badges we went in to meet the other 98 tweeters.

The space was very well thought out (as i suspect most NASA operations are) with plugs on the tables, wifi, beverages and real time tweets being projected on the wall. They clearly knew their audience well, we noticed and were glad. They even had some IT support on hand.

The morning was filled with talks by various employees, astronauts and friends of NASA, some of which were more interesting than others. The twitterfall was happy to lay judgement down in a brutal fashion, with the kind of anonymity blanket that only the internet can provide.

It was during this morning session that the nominated hash tag for the event, #nasatweetup, appeared in the trending topics. Ultimately the tag made it to the number 3 slot. Considering that’s mostly the work of a hundred people in one room, with a small peripheral who couldn’t make it also contributing, this is an amazing feat. It was clear at this point that NASA had a real powerhouse of twitter users on their hands.

After the morning talks we were free to have lunch and browse some of the tourist attractions of the center.

At approximately 12pm we boarded buses for a tour of some of the more inaccessible areas of the facility. This included the Internationl Space Station Centre (ISSC), which housed modules of the ISS which had been returned to restock; along with a museum portion a bit more about life on the station. I particularly liked some of the artwork depicting visions of humanities future in space.

The ISSC was followed by a trip to the Apollo experience. After a brief introductory movie (filling in the back history of the space race and the moon landings) we were introduced to the original Apollo site mission control. It had been dolled up for the public, but hearing the original radio footage in situ was quite the nostalgic experience (and i wasn’t even alive then). It took everyone in room back to a time when space was the bleeding edge of technological endeavours, and the government would throw considerable amounts of money at the program to beat the Russians.

After this trip down memory lane we went to see, and walk the length of the Saturn V (Saturn Five) rocket. The thing is huge. Absolutely mammoth. Especially when you get to the end and see the size of the lunar module. It really highlights just how much power is needed to get out of the earth’s orbit, and we’re not even that big.

Once we were done being aghast by the Saturn V it was time for something the regular tourists aren’t privy to… a trip out to the launch pad!

We went to an area on one of the perimeters, about a quarter mile from the vehicle. Unfortunately the RSS (a supporting structure to keep the shuttle sturdy/inspectable) was still in place, so we couldn’t see much of the stack. That said, it was still an impressive beast and the thought that this time tomorrow it would be in space after we’d watched it lift off was even more impressive.

The day ended after driving back to the car park, having various buildings and alligators pointed out to us (KSC is actually part of/on a big wildlife reserve). I don’t know about everyone else, but after seeing the shuttle up close i was really excited about launch day.

When we awoke on the second day it was to a sheet of cloud. Nobody really wanted to say it, but there was definately concern in peoples voices as they idly exclaimed “Looks like there’s a break in the cloud” or “The sun will evapourate them in a bit”. Later it emerged that NASA officials were equally surprised by waking up and seeing all the cloud, as it wasn’t on their forecast.

Still, the launch was still a go, so we travelled to the press site to our home for the day. A large air conditioned, TV laden and internet enabled (naturally) tent.

From 10am onwards, we played the waiting game. NASA had laid on a number of speakers for us inside the tent, but i feel for the most part they had a hard time keeping us engaged. The constant bustle of tweeters enjoying the rare treat of talking to each other in real life meant that the speakers struggled somewhat to hold the rooms attention. Distractions included posing for photos by the countdown clock, staring at the epic VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) or purchasing (and attempting to digest) the products offered by the ominous looking NASA snack mobile.

About 2 and a half hours before launch, the astrovan drove the astronauts to the shuttle. It’s amazing that we were probably the last members of the general public to see them in the flesh, and more importantly, the last group of people they saw that didn’t work for NASA. They briefly waved from the relative comfort of their retro vehicle before trundling off at about 40mph with what i’d guess to be about 60 horse power. The next time they’d be travelling at 40mph it would be very brief, on their way to mach-WOAH, and probably about 2 seconds after the clock hit 0.

We continued to wait, the cloud from the morning had thinned considerably and as the launch drew closer various members of the press (the ones who were clued up enough to realise there was a very large social media event going on) interviewed some of the visitors. Adam and I were interviews by the Orlando Sentinel whose article can be found here. A little later i was interviewed by a NASA employee for NASATV, the footage for which is not yet available, but let me assure you, it was naturally very witty, intelligent and insightful (I also said some things too).

Before you knew it, there was only half an hour to go and people began setting up tripods, cameras, or just picking a good spot to stand. Here’s a picture of my set up. My Nikon D40 with the rented 50-500mm Sigma attached. The remote IR trigger in my hand. The Casio EX-FC100 bought just before the trip is attached to the barrell to record high speed video, which i would start about 20 seconds before the 00:00:00 mark:

I was stood behind the clock, so had to rely on the PA for updates. As 0 drew closer, those with tripods fervently checked, double checked, tweaked and rechecked their setups as if their lives depended on it.

Finally it got to the point where the checking had to stop and the watching began.

Here’s the high speed video, apologies for the jerks, i will fix it when i get back to the UK:

So why did i go? Why did i spend so much of my own money to attend this event?

It’s a combination of things. I entered on a whim, it happens, many did it, and as it turns out several cancelled when they won a place. I could have done the same, but as i looked into just how much it would cost to get there i rationalised that i had been given the chance to see one of the last shuttle launches to occur. You can count the number of remaining intended missions on one hand. This is a vehicle which can take people from earth to space and back again, the two places couldn’t be more different, yet we have been able to bridge them with this engineering feat. The chance to see that in person, and with NASAs blessing and support was too much to pass up.

There was also an aspect of curiosity. What would it be like to see this huge complex machine take to the sky with my own eyes? Just how loud would it be? I wanted to see it, i could see it, i must see it, and i did see it. Also, i felt the challenge of photographig it would be great. It’s all over so fast, so planning in advance was essential. I’m really happy with the shots i got, there are more of them and they are better than i had hoped they would be so that makes me feel a little more confident in my photographic ability.

And then there’s the people, who i have not mentioned much in this account until now. After the hundred were selected those who didn’t already know each other sought their fellow attendeed out. The internet was used not only to reach out to people by NASA, but by those people to find each other. The space tweeps forum was in my opinion an invaluable asset for those fortunate enough to find it. Many people trading tips, arranging car pools and accomdation, all excited, worried, cross checking and basically getting to know each other. I’ll admit, i was worried. Some of these people had seen launches before, hardcore space junkies who knew the lingo and the stats. I on the other hand have casually dipped my toe in when it comes to NASA and the space programe. Would i be accepted as essentially somebody who’d picked something up on the social media radar and jumped on it because it involved twitter? It turns out I had nothing to worry about, there were many people who weren’t able to rattle off acronyms till the cows came home. I’ve learnt a lot about the shuttle, astronomy and NASA since i’ve been out here. Above all the facts, stats and lingo i’ve seen that regardless of expertise, if people are passionate about something, and you’re in a place for that something, you will most likely get along.

NASA knows this, and to bring it back to their goals, they have used the tools at their disposal to reach out to their biggest supporters and show them a good time.

Their brand has been strengthened in the eyes of those who came and in turn the message will spread to those friend that they talk to. In a time when the future of the space program is uncertain, the buzz these people have generated, many contacting local papers will hopefully show that people DO care about space and space exploration. NASA’s choice not to pay for accomodation or flights was an excellent deterrent, as well as a money saver. If you weren’t a supporter of the space program, or willing to put up the cash to attend the event then you were either not the kind of brand advocate they wanted to attract, or not open minded enough to risk becoming one. Anybody hoping to use twitter to gain support for their brand could use this as a good case study on how reaching out to supporters with twitter can go well. There was not one person there who begrudged paying whatever amount they did to attend because in their eyes, the reward was well worth it. How had the event reflected on NASA had the launch been cancelled? Well we’ll never know, but i strongly suspect that all the attendees would say that everything prior to 2 o’clock on launch day had been a positive experience. In that sense the launch was delightful icing on an already delicious cake.

It is my understanding that overall the event was considered a success by the powers that be, and i hope they go on to do another one (feel free to invite and pay for my trip next time NASA ) I too would consider it a success, and i hope any subsequent events get more support, more budget, more time and ultimately, more people interested.

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