VIDEO: Arlington Resident Tweets with NASA at Shuttle Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL—Arlington resident Swapna Krishna (@skrishna on Twitter) is getting as close to her childhood dream of space travel as a non-astronaut can get at Kennedy Space Center this week.

Krishna was one of 150 Twitter users selected to attend a Tweetup organized by NASA for the final flight of shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

Krishna, a freelancer writer and book reviewer, already was getting up close and personal with the space program at the event on Thursday. The tweeps interacted with NASA shuttle technicians, engineers, astronauts, managers and NASA’s social media team, and toured the Kennedy Space Center. The highlight will be Friday’s viewing the shuttle launch from the media area.

More than 4,100 @NASA Twitter followers applied for a slot at the Tweetup during a 24-hour period in mid-March.

On Thursday, she posted a blow-by-blow account of her tours and experiences on Twitter.

She wrote about touring the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building—or VAB—at Kennedy. “People don't usually get to go into the VAB - we are lucky!” she posted. And, “We are traveling on the same road shuttles use to go to the launch pad.”

Endeavour is targeted to launch on April 29 at 3:47 p.m. EDT on mission STS-134 to the International Space Station.

Patch local editor Edward Cardenas of St. Clair Shores, MI, caught up with her on Thursday as the Tweetup group toured the Kennedy Space Center. Cardenas is seeing his first shuttle launch as part of the NASA Tweetup and sharing the adventure with Patch. Follow along at www.twitter.com/scspatch or at www.stclairshores.patch.com.