{"id":3725,"date":"2011-04-28T12:46:09","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T16:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/?p=3725"},"modified":"2011-04-28T12:46:09","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T16:46:09","slug":"space-geek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/28\/space-geek\/","title":{"rendered":"Space Geek!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin<\/strong> &#8211; <span style=\"color: #888888;\">Russian: \u042e\u0301\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0435\u0301\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u0413\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0301\u0440\u0438\u043d, <small>Russian pronunciation: <\/small>[\u02c8jur\u02b2\u026aj \u0250l\u02b2\u026a\u02c8ks\u02b2ej\u026av\u02b2\u026at\u0255 \u0261\u0250\u02c8\u0261ar\u02b2\u026an];<\/span> (<em>who am I kidding?<\/em>) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human being to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yuri_Gagarin\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you are a first timer here on our blog, <a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\">get to know us more<\/a>. I&#8217;ve done some blog post on our previous visits to Kennedy Space Center:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2011\/02\/26\/discoverys-final-space-mission\/\" target=\"_blank\">Discovery&#8217;s final space mission<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/09\/part-2-a-visit-to-the-astronaut-hall-of-fame\/\" target=\"_blank\">Astronaut&#8217;s Hall of Fame<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/20\/i-needed-a-break-from\/\" target=\"_blank\">NASA!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3726\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/28\/space-geek\/dsc_0003-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,680\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D5000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1303922457&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DSC_0003\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003-300x199.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3726\" title=\"DSC_0003\" src=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/DSC_0003-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a>Albeit still in disbelief for being selected as one of Nasa&#8217;s 150 TweetUp participants to watch Endeavour&#8217;s final shuttle launch into space, I am just as excited as Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor would&#8217;ve been, when <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malaysian_National_Space_Agency\" target=\"_blank\">he was the first Malaysian selected to go into space<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3729\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/28\/space-geek\/img_0077\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,765\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 4&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1303900171&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.85&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.04&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_0077\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3729\" title=\"IMG_0077\" src=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0077-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a>Yesterday&#8217;s morning begin with a frantic drive to Kennedy Space Center. Frantic for the obvious reasons &#8211; I&#8217;ve never driven more than 50 miles away from my home, alone. While I thought blasting music while driving would substantially muster enough courage to brave the dreaded driving, exciting thoughts of finally realizing my dream of seeing a live shuttle launch made me even braver to conquer the journey.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3731\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/28\/space-geek\/img_0079\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,765\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 4&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1303900271&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.85&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_0079\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3731\" title=\"IMG_0079\" src=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0079-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a>Made it at the Press Site just in the nick of time, and ran into wonderful tweeps that are just as excited as me. Can you tell? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3730\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/28\/space-geek\/img_0078\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,765\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 4&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1303900243&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.85&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0285714285714&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_0078\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3730\" title=\"IMG_0078\" src=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0078-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" \/><\/a>Of course, had to pleasure of running into (<em>literally!<\/em>) Seth Green! No introduction needed, but he is an American actor \ud83d\ude42 First <a href=\"http:\/\/kirantarun.com\/food\/2011\/03\/01\/vine-and-dine-with-mj\/\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Jordan<\/a>, now Seth Green? How are the lucky stars in my favor, I can never fathom.<\/p>\n<p>Signing off as official Nasa&#8217;s STS-134 TweetUp participant and don&#8217;t forget to catch my live shenanigans at <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/Kiran_\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a> &#038; <a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/KiranTarun\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin &#8211; Russian: \u042e\u0301\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0435\u0301\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u0413\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0301\u0440\u0438\u043d, Russian pronunciation: [\u02c8jur\u02b2\u026aj \u0250l\u02b2\u026a\u02c8ks\u02b2ej\u026av\u02b2\u026at\u0255 \u0261\u0250\u02c8\u0261ar\u02b2\u026an]; (who am I kidding?) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human being to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961. Source: Wikipedia If you are a first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[639,17],"tags":[677,681,288,337,680],"class_list":["post-3725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-media","category-travels","tag-nasatweetup","tag-endeavour","tag-kennedy-space-center","tag-nasa","tag-sts-134"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pBcTv-Y5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3725"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3737,"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3725\/revisions\/3737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirantarun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}