NASA creates cosmic treadmill, names it after– Stephen Colbert?
NASA names cosmic treadmill after Colbert – CNN.com
What do you do when you’re NASA and comedian Stephen Colbert wins your contest to name the new wing for the International Space Station? You name an orbital exercise machine after him.
NASA will name an orbital exercise machine after comedian Stephen Colbert.
The Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, or COLBERT, is expected to keep astronauts in shape.
With the help of a legion of fans, Colbert got the most votes in the space agency’s online poll soliciting names for Node 3, which will be called Tranquility after the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
Astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams revealed NASA’s decision on "The Colbert Report," which aired on Comedy Central on Tuesday.
Barry Allen was rushed yesterday and couldn’t be reached for comment.
I thought it was a clever way for NASA to get out of a problematic situation. It shows that Astronauts have a sense of humor.
Agreed. I thought it was a brilliant solution. Counter the humorist with humor. NASA's in on his joke.
If they can drive across the USA wearing adult diapers, they sure must have a sense of humour…
How much will the COLBERT cost us? Also, will we see Wheedonites cry and rend their garments because Serenity didn't get a similar tip of the hat? Maybe they could name the sleeping quarters after Inara Serra's shuttle?
If they're real Serenity fans, they're already used to disappointment.
These treadmills have to be on space stations already. If astronauts don't work out in space they lose muscle mass and bone density alarmingly quickly. All this is going to cost us is the price of designing a sticker to slap on an already existing piece of equipment scheduled to be up is space. Those minimal costs have been recouped a thousand times over by the good will and exposure Colbert has generated for the space station already.
I, for one, am slightly miffed that NASA didn't go with Serenity for the name of the node, which was the highest-ranking suggestion after Colbert–and one of the original choices. Why list it as one of the options, if NASA isn't willing to follow through.Andrew Laubacher