I keep trying to post my thoughts and photos about the first-ever European tweetup in Cologne, Germany and a smaller tweetup with @Astro_Paolo Nespoli, @Astro_Cady Coleman, and @AstroSamantha Cristoforetti at the ESA/ESRIN facility in Frascati, Italy. Way too many great conversations and experiences to slow down and write. Now that I’m back home in DC, I have no more excuses.
One word sums up the week: AWESOME!
Just so you know, I was informed by my European tweeps that they were making a bit of fun at our American enthusiasm by using the word awesome. As it turned out, awesome became the catch-word of the event — with it’s own hashtag. I think enthusiasm is actually contagious, if given the proper petri dish. Right @twISSt? 😉
Kudos to Marco Trovatello and Henning Krause of the Germany Space Agency DLR and Fulvio Drigani, Erica Rolfe, Daniel Scuka, Andreas Schepers of the European Space Agency ESA. You guys ROCKet!
Here are some highlights of the Space Day Tweetup in Cologne:
We headed out to the tarmac to see the A380, the largest passenger airliner in the world, and Sofia aircraft, or Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. We got a glimpse of the German version of Air Force One for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (What is it with wet tweetups lately? Did Stephanie Schierholz and I bring the STS-135 rain with us?)
We headed back to the tweetup tent to meet the Expedition 26-27 and STS-134 astronauts. One problem, we separated from the group somehow. Here are my LostMates!
This little magic train appeared. I thought maybe it would lead us back to basecamp, but no dice. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure how we found our way back to the tweetup tent. Perhaps it was the huge inflatable astronaut that guided us home. (Or the smell of coffee and pastries back in the TWent!)
Before starting the program again, we assembled at the stage for a group photo. Just then, @Astro_Paolo appeared in the tent, followed by @Astro_Cady, @Astro_Box, @AstroIronMike, @Astro_Taz, and Drew Feustel. One by one, they plopped down in the middle of the chaos to pose with us for the group photo. Totally unscripted. Totally AWEsome!
Here is a list of the speakers from the agenda. As you can see, the DLR/ESA folks kept us hopping — in a wonderful way.
I lost track of the number of astronauts who visited the tent during the day. Ten or more, maybe? ESA astronauts train at a facility on site, which made it easy for them to drop by. I was thrilled to meet new ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst, @Astro_Luca Parmitano, and @AstroSamantha Cristoforetti, as well as veteran astronauts like Thomas Reiter, ESA’s Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations.
And, you know how it goes…when astronauts show up, tweeps leap into action…as in Lights, Camera, Action!
I loved hearing new ESA astronaut @AstroSamantha tell the crowd that her inspiration has been @Astro_Paolo, @Astro_Ron, and his brainchild @FragileOasis. WooHoo for Fragile Oasis!! AND, if we can work out an agreement with our ESA colleagues, we hope to include ESA bloggernauts on the site. Shhhh. That’s just between us….
Stephanie Schierholz and I had an opportunity to share insights from our NASA tweetup experience. Here’s what tweeps look like via my iPhone Hipstamatic app Helga lens. Quite surreal and grainy. Or maybe it was all a dream.
With Space Day in full swing, we shared the facility with 80,000 visitors — adding to the excitement and frenzy.
Jeff Wallace @RocketMan528 carried @Camilla_SDO to Europe with him. Camilla is quite the cult hero. Space groupies rushed to take photos with her (including my Star Wars buddies and me). I don’t know if you can tell, but the woman in this photo is crying. I’ve never seen anything like it. Crying, just because she got to hold a rubber chicken (a very lovable rubber chicken, I might add).
I have so much more to share. Time and space get in my way. I’m still processing and absorbing. I have so many new tweeps to connect with. Without social media, I would never have met any of you out in the virtual universe — like my long-time Twitter buddies @Cosmo4U and @Amoroso, whom I met in person for the first time.
Our world is getting smaller, but our connections are limitless!
For more information about the tweetup, you can read ESA’s excellent blog and their Flickr stream.
I leave you with a few iconic pics of Germany.
Next post: ESA/ESRIN tweetup in Frascati, Italy.
Fantastic account!
I’m still glowing from our week-long of European space adventures. Work will never be the same for me without an ESA/ESRIN cappucino bar….
Beth – I always love reading your updates. This was truly a wonderful event not only because of the great things ESA and DLR do, but because of the people, their hospitality, their excitement, their interest, their cultural views, languages, ideas and expressions. Just AWESOME! It just shows that at the end of the day, we all have very similar views; we are excited about space, space exploration, the science and engineering behind it. We are inspired and we want to inspire. We connect, we share, we learn, we educate, build bridges, we make friends, we form bonds. And all that will continue to pay out in the near and further future. Lots of Love to all my new European friends. And thank you all for being interested and for getting others inspired. And thank you Beth for being one of the leading ambassadors.
Camilla, you’re one super cool rubber astro-chicken who builds bridges across all cultures. I bow in your presence.
Nice post with great pics Beth!
You are so right about the petri dish. I too pondered about awesome some more, noticing that enthusiasm was about as high in Cologne as it was during the #STS135 #NASATweetup I had the honour of attending. Apparently Europeans get just as enthusiastic as Americans if surrounded by the right amount of awesomeness! 🙂
I think, sometimes, we’re trained by society to be restrained in how we act and react. All it takes is a little “star dust” to let loose the inner child. In the space biz, we just happen to have star dust in our toolkit. And with 10+ astronauts in the tent, we all felt sparkly & awesome. 😉
Great blog BB. Thanks for sharing. Love the photos and your narrative!
Thanks for sharing a “long walk in the rain” with me — through A380 and Sofia. I must have been tweeting (or talking) when the group headed back to the tent. Good luck with your project: http://spaceracekids.com!
Beth,
Great report! Thanks for all the nice comments & photos, and thank you for making the trip. — Daniel (@danielscuka)
Excellent post. Post really captures the awesomeness of the day. Thanks BB.
Beth, glad you arrived back home safe and sound. Wonderful post, wonderful we’ve had you here. Even if still #awesome, #SpaceTweetup wouldn’t have been the same without your support. And by that I mean all of you NASA colleagues. Until next time!
Thanks for inviting us and letting us take the stage — since you never know what we might say or do! I look forward to working more closely across the Atlantic to tell the story of space.
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“Awesome”? Why “Awesome” is my favorite word! Beth! You’re “AWESOME”! Always have and always will! This was A-W-E-S-O-M-E-!-!-! I have never ever tweeted and wonder what my first tweet would be but I sure network space education on Facebook! 😀 What you are doing is a blessing along with my dear friend Camilla. God Bless You Both! Joules
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