A Sprowston man's VIP ticket to see the latest NASA space shuttle launch has been snatched away from him, but he says he still feels 'like the luckiest person in the world'.

Jack Dearlove, 20, was one of 4,000 people chosen from a random ballot to take part in the NASA 'tweetup' of Saturday's launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour.

That launch was initially pushed back until today because of minor problems with the spaceship, but it was again cancelled and is expected to be delayed by around 10 days.

That is too long for the former Sprowston High School student to stay in the USA for the reorganised launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The University of Leeds journalism student told his internet followers: 'It looks like the launch will be pushed back to at least May 8, which means i will miss it. As much as I'd like to stay, uni work and actual paid work says I cant.'

In return for VIP tours and a closer view of the launch, the lucky chosen few were tasked with sharing the atmosphere of the launch with the world via social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

And it was that behind-the-scenes treatment that has eased the disappointment for Mr Dearlove, as he added: 'But actually I'm not really that gutted. It would have been an amazing opportunity but it would have only been the icing on the cake of all the amazing opportunities I've had this week.

'As I sit here blogging from the wonderful town of Jacksonville I'm content with the new friends and contacts I've made and happy with the experience I got.'

To read Mr Dearlove's blog log on to www.dearloveonspace.wordpress.com