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NASA Astronauts In Space Using Twitter Amid Government Shutdown

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NASA astronauts are still able to tweet from space, despite the ongoing government shutdown.

Space agency programs have all but come to a standstill since the government shutdown started on Oct. 1, but astronauts Karen Nyberg and Mike Hopkins continue to send a steady stream of social media posts the International Space Station. Hopkins even postedphotos of an eerie space cloud created by a Russian missile test launch on Oct. 10.

Hopkins and Nyberg have both sent out photos and updates from their Twitter handles, @AstroIllini and @AstroKarenN, respectively, but neither has commented on the ongoing shutdown, which began Oct. 1 on Earth.

NASA has taken special measures to be sure the astronauts on the orbiting laboratory are safe during the government shutdown. Veteran space traveler Nyberg and first time flyer Hopkins are now supported by a skeleton crew in Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"NASA will continue operations in the Mission Control Center to protect the lives of the six crew members in orbit and the safety and security of the space station," NASA spokesman Josh Byerly told SPACE.com in an email just before the shutdown went into effect.

Less than 600 of about 18,000 space agency employees are able to work during the shutdown. NASA-run social media accounts have gone dark (although NASA scientists are still able to send updates from their personal accounts) and agency events around the United States were cancelled since the shutdown began.

"Sorry, but we won't be tweeting/responding to replies during the government shutdown," Voyager 1's Twitter profile (@NASAVoyager) now reads. "Be back as soon as possible."

Cosmic Quiz: Do You Know the International Space St...

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NASA Astronauts In Space Using Twitter Amid Government Shutdown

Coma Galaxy Cluster Found to Have Huge Arms | NASA Chandra Space Science HD Video – Video

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Coma Galaxy Cluster Found to Have Huge Arms | NASA Chandra Space Science HD Video
Visit my website at http://www.junglejoel.com - galaxy clusters rank as the largest structures in the universe held together by gravity. The Coma Cluster has...

By: CoconutScienceLab

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Coma Galaxy Cluster Found to Have Huge Arms | NASA Chandra Space Science HD Video - Video

Clownface Nebula is a Real Circus in the Sky | NASA Chandra Space Science Video – Video

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Clownface Nebula is a Real Circus in the Sky | NASA Chandra Space Science Video
Visit my website at http://www.junglejoel.com - NGC 2392, also known as the Clownface Nebula, was first spotted in 1757. It is a planetary nebula, formed from the cast-off layers of a dying...

By: CoconutScienceLab

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Clownface Nebula is a Real Circus in the Sky | NASA Chandra Space Science Video - Video

UFOs near the Sun – Review of Satellite image by NASA SOHO STEREO for October 8, 2013 – Video

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UFOs near the Sun - Review of Satellite image by NASA SOHO STEREO for October 8, 2013
You can see the different types of unidentified objects. Objects have different shapes and sizes. UFOs are in different points in space near the Sun. These o...

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UFOs near the Sun - Review of Satellite image by NASA SOHO STEREO for October 8, 2013 - Video

NASA admits mistake in banning Chinese student — but likely too late to help

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Misapplication of a federal law meant to stem the theft of American technological know-how has likely made it impossible for several Chinese scientists to attend a NASA astronomy conference -- a ban criticized by Chinese officials and the law's author.

One of those banned is Yale University post-doctoral student Ji Wang, who had planned to present data from the now-defunct Kepler spacecraft at the event. NASA head Charlie Bolden admitted the agency had made a mistake on Thursday, a change of heart likely too late to help, said Alan P. Boss, a member of the Carnegie Institution for Science and co-chair of the conference.

"The efforts of NASA's Ames Research Center to ensure that our Chinese astronomer colleagues will be able to attend the Second Kepler Science Conference have been halted by the fact these approvals must be entered into a computer system at NASA HQ in Washington DC," Boss told FoxNews.com.

"Because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, there is no one at NASA HQ who can complete the approval process."

"The ability of scientists to attend an open scientific meeting about the spectacular results produced by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope is another likely fatality of the failure of the U.S. Congress to enact a federal budget for FY2014," Boss added.

In a Thursday e-mail to NASA staff seen by FoxNews.com, space agency chief Charlie Bolden blamed "mid-level managers" and said his office was looking to correct the mistake.

"In performing the due diligence they believed appropriate following a period of significant concern and scrutiny from Congress about our foreign access to NASA facilities, meetings and websites, [they] acted without consulting NASA HQ," Bolden wrote.

- NASA's Charlie Bolden

"Upon learning of this exclusion, I directed that we review the requests for attendance from scientists of Chinese origin and determine if we can recontact them immediately upon the reopening of the government to allow them to reapply."

The ban had been widely denounced by both Chinese officials and scientists, who initially labeled it deplorable.

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NASA admits mistake in banning Chinese student -- but likely too late to help


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