The Tweetup Begins

After weeks of virtual networking, planning and anticipation, participants of for Twitter users finally were able to meet each in other person Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Actors Seth Green and LeVar Burton were celebrity tweeps who joined the 148 other participants from 43 states and Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

These people range from librarians, teachers, a belly dancer, a "Jeopardy" champion and a number of social media specialists who were randomly selected from a pool of 4,100 applicants who tried to be part of this unique experience.

Set in a tweetup mission control, an air-conditioned tent located just steps from the iconic countdown clock, tweeps were connected to the Internet to share their experiences with the world.

During the morning and early afternoon sessions, NASA personnel gave presentations on space suits, experiments in space and the future of the space agency.

The airtight, climate-controlled, protective suits the crewmates will be wearing will soon be retired after 37 years, and the next generation of suits are being developed, according to Heather Paul, NASA project engineer.

Launch is targeted for 3:47:55 p.m. today.

St. Claire, Mich., Patch editor Edward Cardenas is at the Kennedy Space Center this week as part of the and is posting dispatches. Follow Edward on his space journey at www.twitter.com/elcardenas.