Published: February 05, 2012
Tweetup To Celebrate 50th Anniversary Of First American To Orbit Earth
By Alan Gray, NewsBlaze
Fifty years ago, Astronaut John Glenn was orbiting the earth. He was the first American to do so.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of that first orbital flight, NASA is inviting 100 people for a behind-the-scenes Tweetup at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, prior to the celebration event, on March 2.
NASA has run many successful tweetup events. They really know how to put on a good show. The Tweetup activities for this event begin with a tour of NASA flight research and ground test facilities that support aeronautics and space exploration. Participants in the tweetup will be able to speak with scientists and engineers about the technologies they are investigating and developing.
A commemorative medallion showing the key components of John Glenn's legacy.
Image Credit: NASA |
The Tweetup participants will then go to the Glenn tribute event, being held in downtown Cleveland. Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center is to host "Celebrating John Glenn's Legacy: 50 years of Americans in Orbit." NASA says the program includes a video tribute and remarks by Glenn and agency and political officials.
Astronaut Greg "Box" Johnson and other special guests will be on hand to talk to the lucky Tweetup participants.
NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field was previously called the Lewis Research Center, until it was officially renamed on March 1, 1999. It was renamed to recognize John Glenn's contributions to science, space and the State of Ohio. He was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, who were trained in 1960 at Lewis Research Center, in the Multiple Axis Space Test Inertia Facility.
NASA says research and technology development work at the center now focuses on "air-breathing propulsion; communications; in-space propulsion and cryogenic fluids management; power, energy storage and conversion; materials and structures for extreme environments; and physical sciences and biomedical technologies in space."
Tweetup registration opened at noon on Friday, Feb. 3, and closes tomorrow, at noon on Monday, Feb. 6. NASA says they will select 100 participants, including Twitter followers and their guests, by lottery from those who register online. Because Glenn Research Center is a government facility with restricted access, the event is only open to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.
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