@Astro_TJ, as Flight Engineer TJ Creamer is known on Twitter, posted the first live update about a day ago while in orbit, saying:

“Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! More soon, send your ?s”

Using a Nasa software upgrade on the international space station, astronauts now able to update their Twitter feeds themselves. Using a new, high-powered wireless connection which has been established between orbiters and groundlings, international space station astronauts can post tweets directly from their spacecraft.

Previously astronaut’s tweets have had to be emailed to ground control and then posted to astronauts’ accounts by Nasa’s administrative team. The new powerful web connection, called the Crew Support LAN, takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station, allowing astronauts to browse and use the web.

This development will enhance the astronaut’s personal lives during long missions, easing the isolation associated with life in a closed environment. According to Nasa, astronauts will follow the same internet use guidelines as government employees on Earth.

Astronaut Mike Massimino, a.k.a. @Astro_Mike, may be credited with the first tweet from space, but technically it was “assisted,” and hence not live. Move over @Astro_Mike, @Astro_TJ just sent the first real-time tweet from space.

Here’s how NASA describes the new technology and what it means:

“This personal Web access, called the Crew Support LAN, takes advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and gives astronauts the ability to browse and use the Web. The system will provide astronauts with direct private communications to enhance their quality of life during long-duration missions by helping to ease the isolation associated with life in a closed environment.

During periods when the station is actively communicating with the ground using high-speed Ku-band communications, the crew will have remote access to the Internet via a ground computer. The crew will view the desktop of the ground computer using an onboard laptop and interact remotely with their keyboard
touchpad.

Astronauts will be subject to the same computer use guidelines as government employees on Earth. In addition to this new capability, the crew will continue to have official e-mail, Internet Protocol telephone and limited videoconferencing capabilities.”

By making this possible, NASA Extends the World Wide Web Out Into Space