Lance who? For the first time ever, an unassisted "tweet" was sent from outer space down to Earth. In a press release issued on January 22nd, NASA reported that TJ Creamer, currently on board the International Space Station, became the first person to send an unassisted tweet from space. The message sent:
"Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station--the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s."
However, astronauts have used twitter prior to this milestone. The first official tweet from outer space is credited to Mike Massimino, who sent it back in May of last year. The difference between this tweet and the one from Creamer is that all tweets prior to January 22nd were sent to ground control and uploaded via a third party because the Internet connection from the space station was not powerful enough.
After upgrading the system on Friday, the first unassisted tweet was made from the space station. In addition to tweeting, the upgraded LAN allows the astronauts to surf the Internet, use an IP phone to call Earth, and even give them videoconferencing capabilities. The power of this technology has improved the astronauts" quality of life, and removes some of the isolation that astronauts experience during missions.
For all of those who are too young to remember the first walk on the moon, this is one milestone that will stand the test of time in today"s technological age. To follow TJ Creamer, you can go to this link.