My Shuttle Story

Since being selected to attend the NASA Tweetup STS-135 for the final shuttle launch, people have been sharing their shuttle stories with me. I'm keeping this blog to share my shuttle story too.

As a storyteller, I enjoy when people share their stories with me. The shuttle stories I've been told so far are fascinating. I'm also amazed at how many people have connections to NASA or affiliated agencies. People have shared their shuttle stories with me about night launches and scrubbed launches. I've heard about astronauts and aerospace workers. There have also been poignant memories shared with me about the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.

All of these people sharing their shuttle stories with me gave me an idea. NASA's space shuttle program is ending after 30 years, but the memories and stories will remain as long as we keep sharing them. So why not give people a place to share their shuttle stories?

It is still a work in progress, but so far I've created a few easy ways for people to share their shuttle memories and stories.

When was your first/last time seeing a launch? Did you see a night launch? Miss seeing a launch because it got scrubbed? Work on the shuttle program? Just watched on TV? Whatever your experience, you can share your shuttle stories here:

• On Twitter use hashtag #myshuttlestory. I've also created a Twitter account @myshuttlestory that I'll use to retweet some of the stories that use the hashtag #myshuttlestory.
• On Facebook I've created a My Shuttle Story page.
• Still to come: www.myshuttlestory.com

So share your shuttle stories. And feel free to let me know what you think about this shuttle story sharing idea.

The Media, Tuttle, and the Shuttle Adventure

Today was a good day. The local newspaper in Muncie, The Star Press, ran a nice article about my upcoming NASA Tweetup and shuttle adventure. Check out photos from the print edition below, and see the online version of the story here.

The Star Press - June 24, 2011

Front Page (That's me in the top left corner!)

NASA Tweetup Preparations

So much has been going on. I've been very busy trying to prepare for the NASA Tweetup. And there is still so much I need to do. It seems I don't go to bed before midnight anymore because I've got so much going on. I've been running on adrenaline since the announcement that I was selected, and I'm sure that will continue through the event in July.

I've never really been one to self-promote myself, but now I find myself telling people to follow me on Twitter (I'm @julieanntuttle) so they can be a part of this amazing experience too, albeit vicariously. I have a meeting on Wednesday (gosh, it's past midnight again, so later today) with a local reporter who wants to do two stories on my adventure, one before and one after the event. I'll make sure to provide a link to those stories once they are available.

I'm so excited to share this experience with people who will not be there with me which is one of the reasons I am keeping this blog. Additionally, there are so many amazing tweeps that have also been selected to attend this event, and I am eager to meet them all in person. One person is putting together a documentary (www.spacecrowd.com), and I still have an "assignment" to make a video introduction that I hope to do today sometime. This is becoming like a second job : -)

All us NASA Tweetup peeps have already been talking through Twitter and a Facebook group so it may be surreal when we all finally meet in person. All 150 participants selected for the STS-135 NASA Tweetup  have very interesting backgrounds and a wide range of experiences. Getting to share this awesome event with such an amazing group of people adds a whole other layer to the experience.

On Friday, I'd done a shout out on Twitter to all of the STS-135 astronauts you can follow on Twitter. I mentioned I'd be there to see the launch in July. One of the Atlantis astronauts, Rex Walheim, (find him on Twitter @Astro_Rex) sent me a tweet back that said, "Enjoy the launch. We'll try our best to go on time!" Of course, now I have to tell people that astronaut Rex tweeted to me. If you're a space tweep, you'll understand my nerdy excitement about such a cool moment. And if you're not I hope you'll follow me on my adventure, and you'll get you excited about space too!