I figured since I took a few pictures of the launch it would only be fitting for me to share video of Atlantis returning to Earth from its final mission.

Before I left town for the NASA Tweetup a co-worker asked me "How does the Space Program benefit the average person." Initially all I could think of was Velcro. I remembered from a previous visit to Kennedy Space Center that they had a hand in making its use widespread. According to Wikipedia, "...Velcro only became widely used after NASA's adoption of it, NASA is popularly — and improperly — credited with its invention." While Velcro is a great product, I think most of us could agree that in any given day we could probably live without it. If I had enough time while I was in Florida last week I would have taken detailed notes at the exhibit answering this question at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. Since I didn't I was hoping to find a better list of more substantial items online. It took a bit a of searching but I think I found that list.

On Day 2 of the Tweetup I arrived at the tent at 9:30am after leaving the hotel just after 8am. Right after I set up we went to the countdown clock for a second group photo of the event. Otherwise, there really wasn’t anything else planned that we were required to attend. The agenda was a little more relaxed. At 10:30 we went directly across from the VAB to see the Astrovan pass by. It stopped for a few moments so we all were able to get some good pictures. We were told it was tradition for the Press to wave and clap. Almost all 150 of us were out there cheering them on. We couldn't see them from behind their tinted glass, but I'm sure they appreciated our gesture.

I took some time after that to scope out a spot for my tripod. I didn't plan on being behind the lens during the launch. Instead, I planned on using my wired remote to fire off some shots with the hope that one of them would come out. I definitely lucked out as you can see below.

As you know by now I had been looking forward to going to the NASA Launch Tweetup for several weeks. I got in to the central Florida area around 11pm on Wednesday, May 12th. After getting my rental, driving to my hotel and trying to wind down I finally went to bed around 2am. The next morning I got up around 7:15 took a quick shower, ate a quick breakfast, and made my way to the Kennedy Space center.