Mechanical Problems Delay Endeavour Launch, Tweetup

Three hours, three miles and a bad mechanical component was all that separated astronauts on space shuttle Endeavour, and 150 tweeps, from a launch Friday at the Kennedy Space Center.

The six astronauts were riding in their silver "Astrovan" toward Launch Pad 39A when their van, and other vehicles in the caravan, pulled off the road and into the Vehicle Assembly Building complex.

This turn stunned many of the onlookers who were gathered along the roadway, including tweetup attendees and the NASA employees, who later stated during a press conference that this was the first time a caravan had been diverted in the last three miles en route to a launch.

After a short delay stop, the caravan doubled back along the route it took toward the launchpad. Within moments, an announcement was made that the launch would be scrubbed for at least 48 hours.

The initial concern for the launch expressed by Lt. Col. Patrick Barrett, a U.S. Air Force weather officer during a presentation to the members of the tweetup, was that winds and visibility would delay the flight.

This was the initial belief for the reason behind the scrub. It wasn't until members of the tweetup returned to their "mission control," or a tent located just off the press site with wireless Internet and air conditioning, did we learn from a NASA spokesperson, Allard Beutel, that NASA engineers detected a failure in one of two heater circuits for one of the shuttle's auxiliary power units.

These power units provide hydraulic power to the shuttle, Beutel added, and could not be repaired in time for the 3:47 p.m. launch.

The excitement that had been building during the day was quickly replaced with disappointment over the scrub. But there was also the realization that the decision was made for the good of the crew and not the tweeters or the estimated 750,000 people who were estimated to pack the Space Coast for the launch.

"I am totally bummed," said Nicole Harrison, @socialnicole, of Minneapolis. "I am glad they are being safe."

Harrison said that she was more disappointed for her daughter Abigail, 13, @astronautabby, an aspiring astronaut who was not part of the tweetup but traveled with her mother to see the launch.

"This is really sad, more so for my daughter," Harrison added.

The Tweetup Attendees Meet

The tweetup, while organized to give Twitter users an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the space program, built relationships before and during the event.

Attendees met virtually online to share their excitement over being selected, but also to arrange housing (sharing rented houses that were named after NASA missions and vehicles), share stories and create hats, T-shirts and other tweetup-related memorabilia.

Once in Florida, attendees located each other by their avatars and began tweeting their experiences along with organizing dinners, beer tastings and visiting local attractions.

But along the way, the NASA fans were also able to:

• Speak to astronauts.
• See demonstrations of experiments that will be conducted during the mission and see space suits.
• Tour facilities, including the 525-foot-tall, 129,428,000-cubic-foot vehicle assembly building and see the solid rocket booster and fuel tank for the final mission of shuttle Atlantis.
• Observe the presidential motorcade as President Barack Obama and his family visited Kennedy Space Center. This visit had been planned for weeks.

Tweeps came from 43 states, the District of Columbia and six countries for the launch. They ranged from teachers to stars from Hollywood, including Seth Green and LeVar Burton.

And while the general group was not able to travel to the launchpad Thursday evening to see the retraction of the rotating service structure (which is used to protect the orbiter while on the launchpad) because of weather concerns, I was able to wait out the delays and hitched a ride on a press bus.

After hours of storms, we were escorted to within 600 yards of the launchpad and watched as the large protective structure quietly retracted and exposed the gleaming white space shuttle, waiting for its crew.

During the course of a half-hour, I attempted to capture the perfect photo and soak in the once-in-a-lifetime moment.

While we got back to the press site at 1 a.m., and I returned to the hotel by 2 a.m., I was able to avoid exhaustion through the constant rush of adrenaline that ran through my veins as I lived out a childhood dream and shared my experience, and other tweeps, through Patch.

"I was disappointed. I have been trying for years to see a launch and they have been scrubbed," said Jennifer Huber, @jenniferhuber, of Port Charlotte, FL, on Friday. "It has been a great couple of days ... encouraging and exciting."

Attendees were split on whether they would be staying for the rescheduled launch, tentatively planned for Monday, or heading back to their jobs, family and non-space lives.

While seeing this mission launch, or Atlantis' launch in June, may or may not be in my schedule, the discussions among NASA personnel talking about the future of the space agency and private spaceflight led me to believe there may be other launches I may be able see.

But maybe not as close as I would have been Friday.