The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are inviting 60 Twitter followers to the first joint European Space Tweetup as part of German Aerospace Day, on 18 September in Cologne, Germany.

A Tweetup is an informal, educational gathering of people who use the social messaging medium Twitter. The first joint DLR/ESA Space Tweetup will be an opportunity to learn more about the two agencies and their activities.

German Aerospace Day takes place every two years at the Cologne/Porz establishment shared by DLR, ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) and partners Cologne Bonn Airport and the German Air Force. For the first time, this year’s event will feature a variety of attractions with exclusive access for DLR and ESA Twitter followers.

Items on the Space Tweetup programme will include:

• Welcome by DLR and ESA Social Media Managers, Marco Trovatello and Fulvio Drigani
• Keynote by NASA Social Media Manager Stephanie Schierholz
• Opportunity to meet former astronaut and ESA Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations Thomas Reiter and other European astronauts
• Q&A with SOFIA project managers/scientists
• Various indoor and outdoor tours including:
  
  
  • Tour of ESA’s European Astronaut Centre
  • SOFIA, the NASA/DLR airborne observatory using a heavily modified Boeing 747 SP
  • Airbus A380, provided exclusively by Airbus for German Aerospace Day
  • A300 Zero-G used by DLR and ESA for parabolic flight campaigns
  • Tour of DLR research institutes and facilities
• Q&As with DLR/ESA scientists and project managers
• Opportunities to meet the DLR and ESA social media teams, as well as fellow European space tweeps

The Space Tweetup will take place in a dedicated Tweetup tent located near the European Astronaut Centre, providing participants with workspace, free broadband Wi-Fi access and catering.

How to register

This event is designed for Twitter users who follow DLR and ESA, such as @DLR_de, @DLR_en, @ESA, @ESAoperations, @ESAScience, @ESA_DE, @ESA_IT or @ESA_ES. The goal of the joint DLR/ESA Tweetup is to allow people who regularly interact with each other via Twitter on space topics to meet in person and discuss their favourite subject: space!

Registration is now open: please fill in this form. The number of participants is limited to 60. Additional registrants will be placed on a waiting list. Registration is for one person only and is non-transferable. Please do not submit multiple applications. Please note that neither DLR nor ESA will cover travel, accommodation or food expenses. All registrants must be at least 18 years old.

The Tweetup will be held mainly in English but questions and tweets will be welcome in any language! The Tweetup will take place from 09:00 to 18:00 at the DLR site in Cologne, Germany.

The Twitter account for the Tweetup is @Spacetweetup, the hashtag is #SpaceTweetup. We will use both to post updates and reminders about the event.

Notification of registration

Registration closes on Friday 5 August at 12:00 CEST. Once all the applications have been processed, e-mails with confirmation information and additional instructions will be sent to those selected and those on the waiting list. We expect to send the notifications by mid-August. Please allow us time to process all the applications: we will keep you posted of progress via Twitter @spacetweetup

Queries may be addressed to: Spacetweetup@gmail.com