NASA In Colbert Conundrum Over Space Station

[Andy44]

Woe, far out, man!

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

From Node 3 article on Wikipedia :

On March 23, 2009, NASA announced that the overall vote winner was "Colbert", with 230,539 votes. Nearly 1.2 million votes were cast in total. "Serenity" was the top choice among the NASA-provided names, with 70% of the vote, but finished second overall, losing to "Colbert" by more than 40,000 votes. The naming contest rules, however, state that although the poll results will be taken into account, NASA has ultimate discretion in choosing an appropriate name for the node. United States congressman Chaka Fattah believes that paying attention to democracy and voting results shouldn't be limited to earthbound organizations so he plans to use congressional power to force NASA to honor the winning "Colbert" write in votes. On April 6, 2009, Stephen Colbert threatened a lawsuit if the node is not named after him.

OK, I have been sitting on the wall over this so far, but now I am going to come down and give my 2 cents:

This Colbert guy is really starting to annoy me. He is just using Node 3 and the ISS program to boost his own ego. He should not be allowed to do it. You cannot argue with the law, and NASA did say that they legally reserve the right to give Node 3 whichever name they like.:facts: It just shows how gullible most people are, that one guy on TV tells them to go do something, and they all do it. Don't they have their own imaginations??? I think he has just used & manipulated his audience to get something he wants.

We should start an online petition against the name "Colbert".
Who's with me???

 

[MAraujo]

Don't miss the point Colbert is making! If you haven't watched the show, its easy to miss. He's very blatantly making fun of the big ego's in the media. Its a brilliant commentary on how people are sheep to the mainstream news corporations, and how they will get mobilized for even the most ridiculous of causes with no basis for real information. Weather or not NASA will actually name the node after him is beside the point, if they do he will probably have daily coverage of his namesake (like he's done with other things named after him), if they don't he will still have daily coverage accept paint it as a farcical moral crusade to conquer space. Either way his portrayal of the network egotistical talking heads is genius.

 

[dougkeenan]

Colbert does the space program a favor calling attention to it. IMHO

 

[n122vu]

Pete, I don't think he's actually going to sue, IMHO. I think as MAurujo said, he's just trying to make a point. I think the whole thing was just a big joke anyway. I don't think he realized how many people would play along with him. Since he recieved the most votes, he's just milking it for all the pulbicity that its worth. I'm surprised he hasn't suggested that NASA allow all of the nodes to be corporate-sponsored, as is the current trend with sporting arenas in recent years.

"The astronauts will be camping out in the Bank of America airlock, in preparation for the 6 hour spacewalk to attach the Staples node. The members of Expedition 31, brought to you by Baskin Robbins, will also relocate the MetLife crew habitation module to its permanent home."

---------- Post added at 11:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:38 AM ----------

Woe, far out, man!

(btw, that's Val Kilmer under all that hair in case you didn't know)

 

[Frogisis]

One thing I haven't heard mentioned anywhere so far is that Colbert actually does a lot to promote science and space on his show. He often has astronauts or astronomers and other scientists as guests, and riffs on space news all the time. If it were another comedian trying the same stunt I'd be against it, but Colbert probably got the idea for this stunt in the first place by following space news, and I'm sure he'll continue to draw attention to the field. Naming some piece of equipment after the guy doesn't strike me as inappropriate at all, even if it is pretty goofy.

Ironically, though, I think having the toilet named after him might, in the long run, be the higher honor, especially if it catches on and space toilets in general become known as "colberts." The ISS won't last more than a decade or two, but people could be pooping into their colberts for centuries, and naming space toilets after a comedian who's interested in space seems like an ideal match.

 

[Andy44]

Colbert had the band Rush come on to be interviewed and perform on his show. Aside from the fact that I've never seen another show host accomplish that great feat, it shows his dedication to geeky stuff that rocks. Rush gave us Countdown and Cygnus X1 and 2112.

If I'd have thought about it earlier we could've named the module Geddy Lee, or maybe Rocinante, but Colbert will have to do.

 

[Hielor]

Name will be revealed tomorrow on the Colbert Report: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30156623/

 

[Pilot7893]

Oh god I haven't been this anxious since...well, just this afternoon when I got my report card.

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

--NODE 3 NAME ANNOUNCED--

NASA has announced that Node 3 shall be named "Tranquillity".
The announcement was made by Expedition 14/15 astronaut Sunita Williams live on "The Colbert Report".

The name "Tranquillity" was chosen to honour (honor) the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11.
"Apollo 11 landed on the moon at the Sea of Tranquility 40 years ago this July. We selected 'Tranquillity' because it ties it (Node 3) to exploration and the moon, and symbolizes the spirit of international cooperation embodied by the space station" said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations.

The station's new load bearing treadmill was named "'Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill" or "COLBERT".

"We don't typically name U.S. space station hardware after living people and this is no exception" Gerstenmaier joked. "We have invited Stephen (Colbert) to Florida for the launch of COLBERT and to Houston to try out a version of the treadmill that astronauts train on."

The treadmill is targeted to launch to the station in August. It will be installed in Tranquility after the Node arrives at the station in Feb 2010.

 

[Brad]

The station's new load bearing treadmill was named "'Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill" or "COLBERT".

Now that is something we can be proud of....right?!?! Geezzz... Now NASA has been commercialized. Is there anything left that hasn't been made into a mockery?!

 

[Urwumpe]

Now that is something we can be proud of....right?!?! Geezzz... Now NASA has been commercialized. Is there anything left that hasn't been made into a mockery?!

Congratulations, you have just realized that something happened since Skylab. :lol:

Never heard of the Cola Space War? STS-51F...

I have no problem with it, it is a great joke and a pretty superior way to deal with the media, even if it is just the Colbert show. NASA had always played with popular culture and was always doing small media stunts.

You must not like it, but it is a necessary evil of the modern media world.

 

[dougkeenan]

Now that is something we can be proud of....right?!?! Geezzz... Now NASA has been commercialized. Is there anything left that hasn't been made into a mockery?!

Orbiter?

 

[Hielor]

Now that is something we can be proud of....right?!?! Geezzz... Now NASA has been commercialized. Is there anything left that hasn't been made into a mockery?!

There was no commercialization. NASA was not paid for this.

I see no problems with having a little fun.

 

[Juanelm]

Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill

FAIL

 

[Brad]

Congratulations, you have just realized that something happened since Skylab. :lol:

Come to think of it... I believe it started with Apollo... remember the TANG commericals?! I'd almost forgotten about them, but you have to admit, this is a bit over the line.

Might as well drap the shuttle in a Diet Coke banner...

There was no commercialization. NASA was not paid for this.

Errr.....yea..right, they weren't paid.

 

[Hielor]

Errr.....yea..right, they weren't paid.

NASA did not receive money from Colbert for him to put his name on something.

Moreover, NASA is not really receiving the money it needs in order to do its job effectively only from the government, I wouldn't complain if it started picking up money from selling advertising.

 

[Kyle]

Great name for Node 3, Tranquility, commemorating the Apollo 11 landing, wasn't NASA choice but it was one of the ones at first was at top for the 'place your own' suggestion, I voted for it. The Colbert treadmill thats an interesting choice.

 

[Torgo]

The government programs that are popular with the taxpayers are the ones that get the funding.

I view this as a win for NASA. They got some publicity for free, had a good laugh about it, and came up with a solid name for the module.

The space program needs evangelists to raise popularity and thus get and keep funding. Colbert can be one of them.

 

[cr1]

Anyone has a link for a video of Colbert's show? I'm curious now...