'Colbert' Wins Space Station Name Contest

NASA declines to name new nodule after vote-winning Colbert Report host

(NEWSER) - Steven Colbert missed out on getting the new International Space Station node named after him despite winning a non-binding vote, Space.com reports. NASA decided to call the node Tranquility in honor of Apollo 11's touchdown site 40 years ago, and to console the TV host by naming an astronaut treadmill—the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill—after him. More»

But Joss Whedon's devoted nerd army may spoil comedian's plans

(NEWSER) - Again proving that his love for self-promotion knows no bounds, Stephen Colbert is urging fans to vote for his write-in suggestion for the name of the new observation deck attachment to the International Space Station, Space.com reports. In two days, Colbert nation has pushed his name to the top of the write-in list with 29,000 votes, beating “Xenu”—a galactic ruler discussed in Scientology’s teachings. More»

(AP) - Astronauts hitched a giant chest of drawers to the International Space Station today containing a new freezer, sleeping compartment, and treadmill named for TV personality Stephen Colbert. The Italian-built chest—nicknamed Leonardo, as in da Vinci—was moved from space shuttle Discovery via a hefty robot arm and hoisted onto the space station. More»

(NEWSER) - The name of the new life-support node for the International Space Station will be announced tomorrow night on The Colbert Report by a NASA astronaut, InformationWeek reports. At the host’s urging, Colbert fans stuffed online ballot boxes to name the unit, though NASA doesn’t have to comply. “I certainly hope NASA does the right thing,” he said. “Just kidding, I hope they name it after me.” More»

World's first commercial supply ship has 'new car' smell

(AP) - Space station astronauts floated into the Dragon today, a day after its heralded arrival as the world's first commercial supply ship. NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, the first one inside the docked capsule, said the Dragon looks like it carries about as much cargo as his pickup truck back home in Houston. It has the smell of a brand new car, he added. "I spent quite a bit of time poking around in here this morning, just looking at the engineering and the layout, and I'm very pleased," Pettit said from the brilliant white compartment. More»