Space Station Astronaut: 'Hello Twitterverse!'

The space station gained live internet access for the first time this morning, prompting one astronaut to send a historic message: “Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station -- the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s” Okay, Neil Armstrong he ain’t, but NASA rigged up the system mostly for fun anyway, and to help astronauts stay connected.

“It’s mostly for personal use,” a NASA spokesman tells Space.com. Astronaut TJ Creamer, who sent that landmark tweet, set up the system in his free time, working with earthbound engineers. The space station’s laptop doesn’t enjoy direct access to the net; instead, it uses an antenna to take control of a broadband-connected computer on earth. Expect regular Twitter updates from Creamer and two other astronauts (@Astro_Jeff and @Astro_Soichi).