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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Would-be NASA intern loses gig after vulgar tweet to NASA alum Homer Hickam, reports say [usatoday.com]

A woman may have lost a highly coveted NASA internship following a profanity-laced back-and-forth with a user on Twitter. That user? Famed former NASA engineer and current space council adviser Homer Hickam.

The exchange, reportedly captured in screenshots [twitter.com] that rocketed across social media, began when a user identified as Naomi H. (@NaomiH_official) made an announcement to the world: "Everyone shut the f--- up," she tweeted, Newsweek [newsweek.com] and Buzzfeed News [buzzfeednews.com] report, citing images of since-removed tweets. "I got accepted for a NASA internship."

After a Twitter user notes Naomi's "language," Naomi replies with a sexually vulgar tweet not at all suitable for publication. "I'm working at NASA," Naomi concludes. The user Naomi told off is Homer Hickam, the former NASA engineer and inspiration of the 1999 film "October Sky," based on his memoir. "And I am on the National Space Council that oversees NASA," Hickam replies, referencing his appointment [whitehouse.gov] to the advisory group earlier this year.

[...] Hickam said he takes no offense at the 'f-word,' but sought to warn her that NASA might. And while Hickam did not seek to influence the internship and had no authority to do so, according to the post [googleusercontent.com], use of the NASA hashtag later alerted the agency to the irreverent tweets.

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