Andres Almeida Portrait

“When I first joined Twitter in 2009, one of the first accounts I followed was NASA. I knew they were doing NASA ‘Tweetups’ (now called Socials) where members of the public could apply, go behind the scenes of a NASA facility and potentially attend a launch. “I was selected for the STS-135 Tweetup — the final launch of the Space Shuttle, July 2011. The Tweetup gave me access that I never in my life thought I’d be able to experience. Being inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, where Saturn rockets were assembled, where the Space Shuttle was stacked and now where the SLS is going to be stacked… that for me, was incredible. “We got to Kennedy for the launch on July 7. There were severe thunderstorms and lightning all around. The weather was not looking good for the next day. “The next morning, we get to the press site, and the weather continues to look like it’s going to prevent the launch. There was a 30% chance. I didn’t think it was going to happen. “And then, there was a break in the clouds. And at 11:28 am, the Shuttle launches. It was such a physical, emotional experience. I remember feeling the sound waves. I was just so excited, so thrilled, so overcome by seeing all these peo

Date

2019-09-19

Photographer / author

NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Collection

HQ

Archive

NASA Image and Video Library

Type

photograph

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