Astronaut on Twitter gets 1M followers

HOUSTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- NASA says U.S. astronaut Mike Massimino -- the first astronaut to tweet from space -- now shares his daily experiences with more than a million tweeters.

Massimino, known as "Astro_Mike" on Twitter, flew in May aboard the final space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. He began a Twitter account about a month before his launch, provided updates throughout his time in orbit and continues to tweet about his post-flight experiences and the life and work of an astronaut, NASA said.

"I am thrilled that so many people have been following and responding with such wonderful comments," Massimino said. "I tweet because I feel very lucky to have, what in my opinion, is the best job in the world. I've learned that there are so many people around the world who really love the space program and have a heartfelt interest in space travel -- just like me."

Massimino can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Mike.