NASA数字战略家安德烈斯·阿尔梅达 (Andres Almeida)
When NASA digital strategist Andres Almeida joined Twitter in 2009, one of the first accounts he 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 people put in so many hours on something that was bigger than themselves, working toward making this mission a success. And that was the culmination of it: 5 million pounds of thrust lifting this vehicle 250 miles off the planet.
“I thought, ‘wow, Atlantis took off with just a 30% chance.’ So, I try to take that with me whenever I face a challenging situation. And that’s kind of why I was teetering on not applying for my first NASA internship in 2013. But I thought to myself, ‘well, that vehicle took off in not-so-ideal conditions. Things aren’t impossible.’ That’s what led me to pursue this career at NASA.”
#PrideMonth
Image Credit: NASA / Aubrey Gemignani
当NASA数字战略家安德烈斯·阿尔梅达（Andres Almeida）在2009年加入Twitter时，他最先关注的账户之一是NASA。“我知道他们在做NASA的‘Tweetups’（现在叫Socials），公众可以申请，进入NASA设施的幕后，并有可能参加发射。
“我被选中参加STS-135 Tweetup–2011年7月航天飞机的最后一次发射。推特给了我一个我从未想过能体验到的机会。在运载工具组装大楼里，土星火箭是在这里组装的，航天飞机是在这里堆放的，现在SLS也将在这里堆放……对我来说，这真是太不可思议了。
“我们在7月7日到达肯尼迪机场进行发射。当时有严重的雷暴和周围的闪电。第二天的天气看起来不太好。
“第二天早上，我们到达媒体现场，天气仍然看起来有30%的可能性会阻止发射。我没想到会这样。
然后，云层中出现了一丝曙光。上午11点28分，航天飞机发射。这是一种身体和情感上的体验。我记得我感觉到了声波。我只是如此兴奋，如此激动，看到所有这些人在比他们自己更重要的事情上投入了这么多时间，为使这项任务获得成功而努力。而这就是它的高潮：500万磅的推力把这个飞行器推到离地球250英里的地方。
“我想，‘哇，亚特兰蒂斯号起飞的几率只有30%。’所以，每当我面临挑战的时候，我都试图带着这个想法。这就是为什么我在2013年犹豫要不要申请我的第一个NASA实习。但我对自己说，‘好吧，那架航天飞机起飞的条件并不理想。没有不可能的事情。’这就是我在NASA从事这一职业的原因。”
#PrideMonth
图片来源：美国国家航空航天局/奥布里·杰米尼亚尼
