Astronauts from Mission STS 127, held their first Tweet-Up at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

The Tweetup was the second of it's kind for NASA Astronauts and the first for this crew. The crew members who were able to attend were (from left to right in photos) Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley, and astronauts Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf and Julie Payette. Ms. Payette had to leave a little early does not appear in the photos.

The Tweetup brought space enthusiasts from all over the U.S. together, and at least one from another country, Argelia Perozo who flew in from Venezuela to attend this exciting event. Twitterers sent tweets and NASA projected the ongoing live twitter conversation on a large screen behind the astronauts.

The astronauts spoke about their mission and took questions from the audience afterwards. Video from the mission (somewhat speeded up and funny in spots because of it) was shown as the Mission STS 127 members spoke of their work in space. Questions from the audience ranged from the personal 'What does it feel like to be in space and look out the window?' to the more technical questions such as "How do the astronauts train to use the robotic arm in space?'

The astronauts answered all the questions with good humor and expertise. Interestingly enough, the issue or question, of 'finding common ground' among the many different nationalities and political beliefs of the men and women in space was addressed a few times by the astronauts. This will be explored in depth in a seperate video report by this ireporter.

Of note, another astronaut, Mission STS 116  crew member Joan Higginbotham (photo #10) was in attendance, although not taking part in the presentation. This ireporter spoke to Ms. Higgenbotham who reports that she is now retired. Ms. Higginbotham flew her mission under the command of Commander Polansky as well. When asked by this ireporter what was the best and worst parts of being in space, Ms. Higginbotham responded honestly and with good humor. She said looking out the window and seeing the 'world from that perspective' was one of the best things. Ms. Higgenbotham explained no pictures can ever do justice to the feelings that it instills. Then she laughed and said the worst was having to 'go potty in a 'hole that big' as she created a round circle using her hands united together. She said weightlessness could be a problem and told a story about how she lost a ring that had much sentimental value for her and thought she'd never see it again, only to have it 'float out' from behind where it had been two days later.

This event was held to help promote space travel and NASA programs and in the eyes of all who attended it was obviously a huge success. Hopefully, next time there is a NASA Tweetup, more will be able to attend and enjoy the company of these great men and women for one amazing day.

*Mark L. Polansky commanded the shuttle Endeavour for STS-127. Douglas G. Hurley served as the pilot. Mission specialists were Christopher J. Cassidy, Thomas H. Marshburn, David A. Wolf and Julie Payette, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut.

The mission delivered Timothy L. Kopra to the station as a flight engineer and science officer and returned Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata to Earth. Hurley, Cassidy, Marshburn and Kopra made their first trips to space.

Endeavour set sail on its 23rd mission with the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section. The facility provides a type of "front porch" for experiments in the exposed environment, and a robotic arm that is attached to the Kibo Pressurized Module and is used to position experiments outside the station. The mission included five spacewalks.

* Information beyond this point was obtained from NASA.gov Mission STS 127 and can be found at http://www.nasa.gov/ in the area devoted to STS 127.