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NASA's move to give 100 Twitter users front-row seats at the Kennedy Space Center for the Nov. 16 liftoff of the space shuttle Atlantis propelled the US space agency into the stratosphere of trending topics the day before the launch. The 100 tweeters, also known as tweeps, attracted more than 150,000 followers, making the event the third-most-popular topic for the day.

In an experience usually reserved for more traditional media, the tweeps also received behind-the-scenes tours of the space-center facility and spoke with NASA astronauts, technicians, engineers and managers.

The FEMA Model

In general, the American government's use of social media is growing. For example, the US federal disaster agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is stepping up its use of social networking sites Facebook and Twitter to both inform and gather information, according to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Since Fugate arrived on the job six months ago, he has been emphasizing these channels in its communications with the public (via AFP). Fugate himself tweets under the name craigatfema.

A Larger Goal about a Valuable Mission

NASA has a slightly different goal in mind with its social media publishing - it wants to remind the public that its missions are valuable despite recent trends toward cost cutting.  "NASA has been under considerable financial pressure, as many question the value of sinking cash into space travel," writes BloggingStocks.com. "So, it has to get creative in justifying its existence … and in generating excitement about the agency and what it does."

Other NASA social media events include the first NASA Tweetup at the beginning of the year held by the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA headquarters held its first Tweetup on July 21, followed by another on Sept. 24 that featured the STS-127 space-shuttle crew.

On Oct. 21, it again held a smaller Tweetup, allowing 35 Tweeps to talk with astronauts Nicole Stott and Jeff Williams aboard the International Space Station via a live downlink. These efforts paid off on Sept. 23 when Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) - NASA's first astronaut to tweet - reached 1 million followers.
Since Massimino's first Tweet in May, at least 12 other NASA astronauts have set up Twitter accounts, including:

• Jeff Williams, space station Expedition 21 flight engineer and future station commander who is providing updates, including video and still imagery, about his six-month stay in orbit;

• Expedition 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott, also aboard the station;

• Astronauts and twins Mark and Scott Kelly, slated to command the space shuttle and the International Space Station, respectively, next year;

• Astronaut Jose Hernandez, who began NASA's first bilingual Twitter account in July about his preparation for last month's STS-128 shuttle mission. He tweets about his post-flight activities in English and Spanish.