41: Vault: She Got Exclusive Access to a NASA Launch

Summary

The Bert Show - Episode 41: Vault: She Got Exclusive Access to a NASA Launch

Date: May 18, 2026
Main Guest/Storyteller: Melissa Carter, Bert Show news director

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Episode Overview

In this lively and personal episode, Melissa Carter shares her once-in-a-lifetime experience attending an exclusive NASA "Tweetup" for the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch. The conversation captures Melissa’s geeky enthusiasm for space, how she scored a coveted spot among only 100 worldwide, behind-the-scenes insights from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, emotional moments from the launch, and her reflections on the power of social media to connect people with history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Melissa Became a NASA Tweetup Attendee

• [01:25] Melissa explains the concept of NASA’s “Tweetup,” a social media based event where space enthusiasts apply for a chance to view a shuttle launch and live-tweet the experience.
• NASA aimed to involve younger generations and boost support for the embattled space program by leveraging Twitter for public engagement.
• Melissa, a self-described “space geek,” took a chance and applied—without telling anyone—thinking her odds were slim. Days later, she learned she’d been selected.
  • Quote:

    “I thought, should I? Will I regret if I don’t, but I’m not gonna get in. Who cares?” – Melissa Carter [02:36]

2. The Diverse “Tweetup” Community

• [03:37] The Tweetup drew 100 participants from around the world, including Morocco, New Zealand, and England, each covering their own travel costs.
• Collectively, attendees had a combined Twitter following of about 150,000, allowing NASA to reach a broader, more engaged audience.

3. NASA’s Facilities & The Mood Onsite

• [04:16] The program included two full days of tours and events:
  • Visiting assembly facilities for the shuttle
  • Passing by the Columbia memorial hangar—a solemn moment, as this housed wreckage from the Columbia disaster.
  • Walking through vast, utilitarian 1960s-era buildings on NASA property, larger than Walt Disney World and possessing a stark, government feel.
  • Quote:

    “All the buildings are these bland 1960s brown, no windows, very government. It’s not anything that you think, oh, this fanfare.” – Melissa Carter [06:01]

4. Security & Safety at NASA Launches

• [07:03] Melissa shares that even VIP launch viewers are kept at least three miles away for safety due to:
  • Danger of explosion
  • Toxic acid rain from rocket exhaust
  • Most importantly, the deafening sound waves that can be fatal at close range.
  • Quote:

    “It’s the sound. The sound is the number one thing that can cause death of people who are too close.” – Melissa Carter [08:04]

• [08:15] NASA pours 350 gallons of water over the launch pad to absorb sound energy and protect the shuttle’s exterior.

5. The Space Shuttle Launch Experience

• [09:27] Tweetup attendees were treated as VIPs:

  • Given an air-conditioned tent near the press
  • Astronauts stopped by to talk directly with them
  • Major news outlets (like CNN) sought their reactions and interviews
  • Quote:

    “All the astronauts are coming to talk to us, and all the NASA officials are coming to talk to us. And all the people from like AP and CBS and all CNN’s like, hey, wait, can I get a minute?” – Melissa Carter [10:11]

• [10:23] “BlackBerry prayer pose” – participants tweeting furiously rather than making eye contact made for a surreal astronaut-public interaction

6. Astronaut & Shuttle Details

• [11:09] Six astronauts (all men) flew Atlantis on this mission; they were swapping with a woman astronaut returning from the ISS.
  • Largest live audience for a shuttle launch since the Apollo era
• The pre-launch ritual includes astronauts traveling in the iconic “Astro van” past spectators, waved on by crowds and trailed by a security helicopter.

7. The Emotional Power of the Launch

• [13:23-14:47] Melissa describes the sensory experience of the launch:
  • The famous countdown clock, fans tailgating, and two primary spectator spots
  • The delay between seeing the shuttle lift off and hearing/feeling the rumbling sound
  • Non-stop vibration in the body and a pervasive sense of awe
  • Quote:

    “You feel the vibration. That popping is like you’re in a tent with the…I mean, you are shaking.” – Melissa Carter [14:11]

  • [14:57] The launch left her overcome with emotion:

    “I couldn’t talk. Like, like I wanted to say something, but I…tears. It was, it was beautiful.” – Melissa Carter [14:57]

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• On Tweetup exclusivity:
  “For NASA, it was 100 of us from around the world…all over the country.” – Melissa Carter [03:09]
• On the emotional gravity of the launch:
  “I couldn’t talk. Like…I wanted to say something, but I…tears. It was, it was beautiful.” – Melissa Carter [14:57]
• On audience impact:
  “That was the largest audience they’d had since the Apollo missions.” – Melissa Carter [11:44]
• On experiencing vs. photographing:
  “If you’re a first time launch viewer, don’t bring your camera, experience it…No picture that you take is any better than what NASA’s going to take.” – Melissa Carter [12:22]

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Key Timestamps

• 01:25: Melissa introduces the Tweetup concept and application process
• 03:37: Description of international Tweetup attendees and social media impact
• 04:16: NASA facility tours and Columbia memorial
• 06:01: Impressions of NASA’s architecture & size
• 07:03: Viewing logistics and three-mile safety radius
• 08:04: Explanation of launch pad water dump and sound danger
• 09:27: VIP treatment for Tweetup participants and press contrast
• 11:04: Shuttle crew specifics and pre-launch ritual
• 12:22: Launch-day advice: experience over photography
• 13:23-14:47: Melissa’s audio from the launch; emotional aftermath

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Summary

Melissa Carter’s animated retelling offers a rare, accessible window into the world of space launches—from the excitement of being selected for the Tweetup, to intimate moments with astronauts, to the overwhelming sensory and emotional power of seeing a shuttle take off. The episode is both informative and heartfelt, blending space trivia, personal reflection, and the Bert Show’s trademark banter, making NASA’s mission—and fandom—feel both epic and personal.

Transcript

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[Commercial Announcer 1]

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[Melissa Carter]

by guests Rated highest by real guests through authentic reviews VRBO Book a vacation rental Loved by guests the Burt show hi.

[Co-host 1]

So Melissa Carter, this is really exciting. You talk about exclusive and this had nothing to do with the Burt show or Melissa Carter, news director on the Burt Show.

[Melissa Carter]

This was total geek Melissa.

[Co-host 1]

Totally different.

[Melissa Carter]

Well, and it was a NASA tweet up for the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis yesterday in a tweet up. I mean, it's of course based on Twitter, so you have to be a Twitter member. But burst Big Adventure kind of turned into a tweet up this past year because it's basically where we all, if you followed, we all were at Birch Big Adventure and we tweeted about our experience. You went to the Birch Big Adventure website and you saw all of our tweets just kind of scroll up the screen so that you could follow along with what's going on, even if you couldn't go, well, the same with the Atlantis launch. NASA, who doesn't have much of a budget and who understands that the space program is in trouble because it's always based on new administrations and budget money. So everybody's worried about the recession and budgeting concerns. So NASA's like, you know, we want people to be invested in our space program and we want young people to be reinvested in the space program. So we're doing this tweet up. Well, I am a geek. I'm a space geek. I love sci fi and everything space. So I already followed NASA and they had announced that they were going to do a tweet up. And so I thought, there is no way I'm going to get in. Because the announcement was made that the first hundred people to sign this online registration form at a certain time on a certain day was gonna be able to be invited to the Kennedy Space center and watch the launch. And it's on your own dime. NASA wasn't paying for it, but if you wanted to be a part of it, then sign up. And I thought, should I? Well, I regret if I don't, but I'm not gonna get in. Who cares? I didn't even tell anybody. I didn't tell Katie. I didn't tell my other space buddies. I was just like, you know, let me just do this.

[Co-host 2]

Do you have space buddies?

[Melissa Carter]

I mean, people who are into space with me? Yes.

[Co-host 1]

Hello, space buddies.

[Melissa Carter]

Whatever. I just.

[Co-host 2]

Melissa, I'm gonna have to.

[Co-host 1]

I must let her have her time.

[Co-host 2]

Okay, you're right.

[Co-host 1]

Let's let her have her golden moment.

[Commercial Announcer 2]

You got it.

[Melissa Carter]

I'm running on two hours sleep. Whatever. My friends who are also invested in this. So anyway, so and I signed up and, you know, it was about a week or so later I got the email saying that I got in. I could not believe it. So anyway, that's what we were part of. And I didn't think. I didn't think a lot about it because I knew I was gonna be excited about it. But I thought a tweet up, it's not gonna be, you know, gonna get down there and they'll have a place for us to tweet and that'll be it. But when we got down there, it was almost as if we were VIP, because for NASA, it was 100 of us from around the world. There were people there from Morocco, from New Zealand, from England, who had again, all of us, our own expenses to get there, all over the country.

[Co-host 1]

And not like in an EPCOT way, like real people from real countries.

[Melissa Carter]

That's right, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And they knew that collectively, my understanding is there probably was about 150,000 followers of all of us collectively. So they knew that that would be 150,000 followers. That may not care anything about the space shuttle launch or even knew that it was happening that maybe would be invested in it.

[Co-host 2]

So I think it's pretty cool that people in other countries, because US and Russia are the only ones who go to space launch.

[Melissa Carter]

Well, China has a program Iran, but I mean when it comes to launching

[Co-host 2]

rockets, but like space station, it's US and Russia, right?

[Melissa Carter]

Yeah, that's correct. People in Space station, International Space Station is Russia in the United States. Wow. And so, yeah, so when we got there, it was Sunday morning call at 8 o' clock and Monday morning called 8 o'. Clock. And it was a full day of activities in which like, you know, Sunday we got on NASA buses and we were given tours. So we got to tour the facilities in which the space shuttles are built and put together. We got to tour the facilities. Unfortunately, there was one really solemn moment where there was a hangar that had the emblem of the space shuttle Columbia on it. And that was the place where they had gone through. That's where all of the Columbia pieces were brought and examined. So it's a sacred place on NASA. As they passed by that hangar.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

Now, I know this is probably from my like watching ET or Space Camp, but I imagine you guys all having to be in like suits or something as you go through this museum.

[Co-host 1]

Silvery.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

The silvery suits, like they have to be in one piece jumpsuits.

[Melissa Carter]

Why do I think that that would have been cool. But no, they did not provide us with that or we would have never

[Co-host 2]

going to be one of Melissa's space buddies.

[Hers Weight Loss Advertiser]

Shut up.

[Melissa Carter]

So, so, so the impressions I had leading up to the launch, because everything was leading up to the launch. It was information about the space shuttle, it was information about the people a part of it. There were astronauts that came to talk to us. NASA people came to talk to us. And the whole time we're tweeting. So, you know, if you now, if you go to NASA, tweet up the slash, NASA tweetup. You can follow. You can see all of what everybody tweeted all weekend long. And so we're trying to get that information out there leading up to the launch. But one thing I noticed is one, the NASA property is bigger than Walt Disney World property, which I thought was fascinating. If you're from the south and you've been to Walt Disney World, that's a massive property that only what, a third of it is used. Well, NASA property down there is bigger and so. And all the buildings are these bland 1960s brown, no windows, very government. You know, it's not anything that you think, oh, this fanfare. We're going to be seeing the, you know, like Epcot. We're going to see this big golf ball that's like Epcot in the middle of all this space. Cool things. And it's just brown buildings in the middle of like really sandy Florida, you know, almost kind of marshlands.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

Is it all top secret, I assume. Because I would imagine most of that stuff is top secret. Cause you don't want other countries having that information.

[Melissa Carter]

Right?

[IQ Bar Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Co-host 1]

Like if Melissa doesn't show up for work tomorrow, we're gonna know.

[IQ Bar Advertiser]

She said too much.

[Melissa Carter]

Exactly, exactly. But I didn't notice that there were.

[Co-host 2]

One of her space buddies ratted her out. Sorry.

[Co-host 1]

The NASA van is just gonna pull up to that.

[Melissa Carter]

You know, you're gonna be my space buddy for the summer. So anyway, so there was somebody that noticed that there were no windows in the. I didn't even pay attention to that. But anyway, we were going around and so there's all. There's this in load of information. But it was yesterday that we arrived at the launch site spectators area, which is three miles away from the shuttle.

[Co-host 1]

So listen to this now, she told us this this morning. Front row for the launch is three miles away.

[Melissa Carter]

Three miles away. And Jeff told me off air that anybody that has NASA contacts can get up to two miles, but that's as close as you can get. You know, a lot of people may think that. Like if you see that famous scene of people on a green field with the countdown clock and the shuttle launching behind me, that's where I was. And that's three miles away.

[Co-host 1]

I had no idea.

[Melissa Carter]

And they were explaining to us because not only the danger, I mean, there's. We got this form where there's, you know, the danger because that's a huge bomb that the shuttle is attached to, you know, where the fuel is. And there's a plume cloud of steam that we learned that comes, you know, you see the big white cloud after its launch. There's a lot of acid rain that falls from that because of everything that's burned in, you know, the rocket. So you're away from that for a little bit. Sometimes the acid rain, if the wind blows enough, hits the people that are watching. But what a cool scar. I know, but we were warned about that.

[Co-host 2]

Why are you all speckled? Was it a rocket launch?

[Melissa Carter]

Yeah, you know, no big deal. But it's the sound. The sound is the number one thing that can cause death of people who are too close.

[Co-host 2]

And is it like the vibrations just screw up your heart or something.

[Melissa Carter]

I don't. I assume. So they, they were explaining to us and said this a little earlier, where there's 350 gallons of water that they pour. Like if you watch a close up of a launch or the replay of yesterday, you'll see this water all of a sudden shoot out onto the launch pad. And that is to not only keep it cool from the rocket, but also to absorb the sound. And because even at the launch site, if they launch without that water, the tiles on the bottom of Atlantis would blow off from the sound of the

[Co-host 2]

rocket being the same danger exists for Tardy for the party.

[Melissa Carter]

Exactly. That was what I was. You just wrote the words right out of my mouth.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

I was just wondering, how do the astronauts survive that if they're inside the shuttle and they're right there where all that sound is?

[Melissa Carter]

Well, they're sitting on their backs. And by the way, they're sitting on their backs for like four hours before they launch. So anyway, there's so much information, I'm sorry, I keep running on and on.

[Co-host 1]

That's the only part of being an astronaut that you could pull off right there, isn't it?

[Melissa Carter]

Yeah, lay on my back. Oh, and you know what's funny is that tempur pedic, which I love, you know how it says, you know, invented by astronauts, the Tempur Pedic technology was invented. So when those guys are laying on their backs at launch, it's underneath their necks to support their necks during the launch.

[Co-host 1]

Really?

[Melissa Carter]

That's where Tempur Pedic comes from. Fascinating. So anyway, so we're there at the launch and the tent for the tweet up. Let me just say that, you know, because Jeff introduced us to Twitter, what was it, two years ago? Yeah, because Jeff has been on Twitter longer than the rest of us and he was letting us know, look, guys, this is the future of communication. It's the future of, you know, this is something special. And yesterday was a testament to that because we had this huge air conditioned white tent, looked like a circus tent. All the other news agencies were around us, but we were the ones that were treated like VIPs. There was 100 tweeters in there that were tweeting about the launch. And all the astronauts are coming to talk to us, and all the NASA officials are coming to talk to us. And all the people from like AP and CBS and all CNN's like, hey,

[Co-host 2]

wait, can I get a minute?

[Melissa Carter]

CNN was there outside the tent trying to get in to interview people and

[Co-host 1]

you were supplying the information for the world yesterday on the launch.

[Melissa Carter]

Absolutely.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

And I loved what you said about everybody being in their BlackBerry prayer pose.

[Melissa Carter]

Yes, that's what they call it. Yeah, the BlackBerry prayer when you're down. Because they said. The astronauts said, this is the weirdest audience to have because we know you're typing as we're talking, but nobody's looking at them as they're talking, you know, but. And so we go out to the launch site and so. So we're leading up and NASA TVs on, and NASA TV shows the astronauts getting ready. And one quick story, and I'm sorry, I know this is going too long, but one quick story about the astronauts when they are headed to the launch site. They're in what's called an Astro van, and it goes down this road and they purposely pass the people that are watching the site and everybody's waving and cheering and they're waving outside the windows and stuff. And there's this big helicopter that is their security helicopter that leads them to the launch site. So that was really cool to see.

[Co-host 2]

I want to ride in an Astro van.

[Melissa Carter]

So that was really cool how. There's.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

How many astronauts on this.

[Melissa Carter]

There's six on the. Six on this launch. So there's six.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

How many men and how many women?

[Melissa Carter]

All six are men. They're bringing back a woman from the International Space Station, so they're swapping out.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

How long has she been up there?

[Melissa Carter]

I don't know how long she's been

[Commercial Announcer 1]

up there, but she's been on the moon by herself.

[Melissa Carter]

If they're solo at the space station, the International Space Station in orbit. So there's two people up there.

[Co-host 1]

Please tell me it's another woman.

[Melissa Carter]

I think it's just

[Co-host 1]

because the guy's like, get me out of here.

[Co-host 2]

They would never put two women on the space station at the same time on account of oxygen usage.

[Commercial Announcer 1]

Are you serious?

[Melissa Carter]

Are you serious?

[Commercial Announcer 1]

Come on. That's a lot of chatting now. You just became a space buddy.

[Melissa Carter]

Yeah. So, yeah, so the Astro van goes by. So that was really neat to see everybody scream and yell at the astronauts as they went by. And they said that was the largest audience that they'd had since the Apollo missions. So, I mean, so I, you know, and all the tweet, you know, part of history, man. Yeah, all the, you know, the tweet up people were like, well, I. We probably had a little bit to do with that. I didn't say that, but they did. And then we go out to that site where the clock is where the grass is and we're ready to go. And all these people have all their cameras ready. And we were told, look, if you're a first time launch viewer, don't bring your camera, experience it. Because they said no picture that you're going to take is any better than what NASA's going to take.

[Co-host 2]

There's going to be a million pictures anyways when you're done. And it doesn't make a difference if you took it or someone else did.

[Melissa Carter]

Exactly. So all these people had their tripods out and I sit right in the front with my little recorder and I'm sitting there to record the sound of the launch because that's one thing that I don't think people understand.

[Co-host 1]

So is there just before I play the audio here, and it's about a minute and a half long, is there a big countdown clock and is there audio saying 10, 9, 8, 7?

[Melissa Carter]

Also there are two places to watch the launch because we're on kind of a water. So we're kind of on a. There's like a pond in between us, a little lake in between us and the launch site. So we are on where that countdown clock is. So we are sitting on the lawn with that famous countdown clock that you see, the big long metal one. Then across a parking lot is where the spectators who are just residents of Florida or anybody who traveled come in their RVs. They have the speakers, we have the clock. They're tailgating their days. Yes, they're tailgating for this. And so the speaker is across the parking lot, but you can barely hear it, but it is there.

[Co-host 1]

Okay, so this is Melissa Carter at the shuttle as it's launching. Okay. And she's three miles away. That's the wind. Is that still wind or is that that start?

[Melissa Carter]

That's part of the sound coming towards you. It takes a second for it to hit you.

[Co-host 2]

Yeah. Can you feel a breeze or anything?

[Melissa Carter]

You feel the vibration. That popping is like you're in a tent with the. I mean, you are shaking.

[Co-host 2]

Wow, that's awesome. Good calling audio.

[Melissa Carter]

And is that popping fascinating. And we could see the shuttle all the way to where the rocket launch. The, the boosters were separated from the, from the shuttle.

[Co-host 2]

Wendy sent a picture from someone in Orlando.

[Melissa Carter]

It's from my sister that you retweeted.

[Co-host 2]

That was like, you can see it going over Orlando.

[Co-host 1]

And you said that you were like so filled up with emotion.

[Melissa Carter]

I couldn't talk. Like, like I wanted to say something, but I. Tears. It was, it was beautiful.

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