Were you actually expecting NASA to name a room on the International Space Station "Colbert"? Though Stephen Colbert’s last name topped an online poll for the christening of Node 3, astronaut Sunita Williams appeared on The Colbert Report last night to announce the module’s official name: Tranquility. But never fear, Colbert Nation!* The two parties reached a compromise. NASA decided to name a treadmill after the comedian: the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (or, in acronym form, COLBERT). It’s a space treadmill, people. Does it get any cooler than that?
* Firefly fans, however, should be upset. Serenity, which was one of NASA’s four suggestions, had received the second most votes. Tranquility was the eighth most popular write-in.
This is only further proof that NASA is bullsh!t. Our tax dollars go to humorless tools who back out on promises and create expensive things that sure aren’t going to help the increasing number of unemployed and homeless.
Also, Tranquility? We already have the Sea of Tranquility on the moon, do we really need to give more things such a boring name?
Come on, NASA. Serenity pretty much means the same thing, AND it’s from an awesome TV show. AND it got the highest votes aside from Colbert. What more do you want?
Well good on NASA for putting a LEGEND in space!
Space will now get the COLBERT BUMP!
http://tvdonewright.wordpress.com/
Oh, come on. This is just hilarious! I can’t wait to see if NASA actually does name the treadmill “COLBERT”. Think about it…you don’t see an “Gilligan’s Island” shower, a “CNN Situation Room” sleeping bag, or a “CSI” dinner tray do you? This is ground-breaking stuff!!!!
NASA forgets that Americans have this odd notion that voting actual means something.
They chose the 8th most popular name! Another example of government bureaucracy!!!
Gee, as a taxpayer I thought I bought a module, but all I got was this crappy treadmill. If the robot drones at NASA want to name the module themselves, let them pay for it. I want a refund. Seriously, I’m calling my Senator to demand they cut NASA spending. I hope you’ll do the same.
Some Colbert fans are taking a joke WAAYYY too seriously. It’s like fans of Rush Limbaugh: they gain nothing but anger for their fellow Americans, from an adulterer and prescription drug addict.
Don’t get me wrong… Colbert is a comedy genius but his show and name have nothing to do with the dream of space exploration. And so far, voting for the joke doesn’t seem to have increased anyone’s awareness of the space program or it’s benefits, which was NASA’s reason for running the voting bit in the first place. It has only served to make the Colbert Nation a little meaner. Jokes are supposed to be funny and it would have been funny if the name had stuck but NASA chose to go a different way. They even stated on the voting page itself that they would choose the name themselves in the end, anyway. Let it go.
Oh well, it only goes to show that in America democracy is dead.