Suck it, Xenu! Colbert is #2 in votes tallied at the NASA site
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Click here to write in “COLBERT” for the name of the NASA Node 3 Space Station!
According to Space.com, there’s some very interesting results in the voting thus far for renaming the Node 3 Space Station module:
This marks only the second time that NASA has sought public input for naming a piece of U.S. space station hardware. The Harmony module was named by 2,200 students who entered NASA’s naming contest for Node 2. By contrast, 169,000 people have voted online at NASA’s naming contest site so far.
The NASA-chosen name Serenity, which shares the name of a spaceship in the cult favorite television series “Firefly”, continues to maintain a huge lead with more than 66,000 votes, according to NASA. But a surge of votes has given Colbert 29,000 in just two days, enough for second overall. The trailing vote-getters include Xenu (9,200), Earthrise (4,200), Legacy (3,500) and Venture (3,200).
“We think that the ‘Colbert’ entry is great, and are excited that Mr. Colbert and his audience have taken an interest in the contest,” said Jacob Keaton, space station program analyst and manager of the Name the Node Contest.
Keaton also told SPACE.com that there were no special provisions for dealing with unusual or downright wacky names, but that NASA would use the public’s opinion as a large part of the final decision.
It looks like Stephen is still in the lead as of 10:52p EST this evening, too. Go Colbert Nation! But we’ve still got work to do – we still have 30,000 more votes to get before we overtake Serenity, plus this looks like it could very easily turn into Battle of the Fandoms (Colbert vs Joss fans vs Anti-Scientology). Can’t wait to see how this turns out!
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37 Comments
March 5th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Also want to mention that there could be a surge in voting from another fandom in the upcoming days… Sounds like people on the offical Barry Manilow site are launching their own campaign AGAINST Colbert to get it named after Manilow: http://manilow.ning.com/forum/topics/iss-module-should-be-named
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March 5th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
MANILOW!!!!!!!
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March 9th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Manilow? LOL
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March 14th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Gaia Online is also trying to get in on it, and they have a pretty big fanbase. They’re offering free “items” if you vote “Gaia” and it’s already placed 3rd in the suggested list. I hope we can get Colbert to win it! I’m voting every day… on three computers, with three browsers each!
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March 6th, 2009 at 12:56 am
Woohoo Nation!! We can do it!
Damn those Manilow people! Are you kidding me?! That’s really kind of funny how Manilow can continue to indirectly thwart him. Lolz.
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March 6th, 2009 at 2:23 am
WHEDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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March 6th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
The names “MYYEARBOOK”, “SOCIALVIBE” and “SUNSHINE” are on the list now. Who votes for these names?!?
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March 7th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
MYYEARBOOK sounds like an attempt for a website to get more publicity.
…Or the name of a computer virus. The latter makes it seem somewhat more amusing, IMHO.
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March 11th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
the socialvibe network sent an e-mail to all their members to beat colbert by voting for it.
its a charity network.
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March 6th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
spread the word nerds
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March 6th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71171592256
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March 6th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Sure would be nice if Nasa would update their site so that you could see the raw # of votes for each of the names, regardless of them being write-in or NASA selected.
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March 6th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I find it adorable how Stephan’s right ear is flopped down more than his left.
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March 9th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
He is actually deaf in that ear.
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March 7th, 2009 at 1:25 am
If only NASA knew what they were getting themselves into if they chose to put Colbert on that Node. Then “xenow” it would be a mistake!
Good luck!
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March 7th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Manilow is to music what Colbert is to Conservatism.
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March 7th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
MANILOW!!!!
Don’t stop voting, people! One vote per computer per day! Git on it.
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March 8th, 2009 at 2:49 am
I was going to vote for Colbert but SERENITY took my vote. WHEDON’s best creation deserves to be in space!!!
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March 8th, 2009 at 6:06 am
WHEDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It looks like Serenity is slipping since it is down 3% from 86% to 83% so I think we’re gaining on them.
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March 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Are we sure we want Stephen’s name on this part of the “poop deck”?
Read the details. Maybe is should be ‘Serenity’ after all.
Node 3 will connect to the port side of the Unity Node and will provide room for many of the station’s life support systems.. including:
Oxygen Generation System (OGS), which takes the station’s water and splits it apart into hydrogen, which gets vented into space, and oxygen, which is returned into the cabin for the crew to breathe
Water Recovery System (WRS) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), which take waste water from the station and purify it, separating any contaminants and making it safe for the crew to drink
Waste and hygiene compartment, which provides a place for the crew to use the bathroom in a way that allows the station to process the majority of the water used onboard so that it may be used again, greatly lessening the need for resupply flights from Earth.
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March 8th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Yes. We want Stephen’s name on this. Why? Because Stephen wants it on this. :) We kinda have to do what he asks – it’s our “thing”, per se.
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March 8th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
“Keaton also told SPACE.com that there were no special provisions for dealing with unusual or downright wacky names, but that NASA would use the public’s opinion as a large part of the final decision.”
Right. That’s BS. From the “contest rules”:
“NASA will take into consideration the results of the voting. However, the results are not binding on NASA and NASA reserves the right to ultimately select a name in accordance with the best interests of the agency, its needs, and other considerations. Such name may not necessarily be one which is on the list of voted-on candidate names. NASA’s decision shall be deemed final.”
That said, Whedon fans should back off. Serenity is a name for a ship, not a space station module. When (hopefully) we start building space shuttles / ships again, Serenity should be on the top of the list (along with Columbia, Challenger, Excelsior, and, of course, Enterprise).
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March 9th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Since the nodule is for hygiene, and recycling fluid waste from astronauts, my second vote after COLBERT was Yurinspace.
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March 10th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
People, after you vote “Colbert” on the NASA site, delete your internet history/temporary internet files/cookies, then you can vote again! If you use Internet Explorer- click tools, then click Delete Browsing History, then click Delete All. If you use Mozilla Firefox- Click Tools, then Clear Private Data, then click Clear Private Data Now. Yay, go vote again!
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March 10th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Voted! ;-)
And I’ll vote every day till Stephen wins!
Spekkio is right about “Serenity”. It’s a ship, not a module. If they were naming a ship, then I’d have to go with that, definitely. (WHEDON!!!!) But it’s ok, as Serenity is down to 78%, so the Colbert Nation is gaining! Yay!
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March 10th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
I tried to suggest
COLBERT’); DROP TABLE ALIENS
but it just says ‘Poll results unavailable’ now =/
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March 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
The name should be money pit. If there was ever a government organization that needs to be privatized it is NASA. Stop waisting hundreds of millions of TAX dollars, it provides nothing to the greater good of this country.
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March 11th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Serenity is the name of a bladder control pad!
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March 11th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
That’s hysterical, especially given that this node is supposed to be a “waste and hygiene compartment” haha!!
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March 11th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
There’s absolutely no way he’s going to beat out the Whedon-geeks voting for Firefly’s “Serenity”, sorry.
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March 11th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Ah, but the beauty is, he’s already winning. And with a national television show and his tech nerd army, he’s got a very significant leg-up. The power of the Colbert Nation is legendary, my Mal-loving friend.
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March 11th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
You think Whedon doesn’t have a tech nerd army? Check out Whedonesque. We’ve been on high alert since Colbert declared war.
And it hurts me to do it, but I do love Firefly more than Colbert.
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March 12th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
i loved firefly and was heartbroken when it was cancelled. but i have to agree with that it deserves better than to be remembered on water and waste treatment module.
colbert is the perfect name for the module, because his living is to make s@#t funny.
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March 12th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Number one now. I wish NASA would just put Colbert on the selections. You know its probably gotten way more votes then all the other NASA created one put together. AMERICA WANTS THE NAME TO BE COLBERT. NASA needs to listen to the people of America. That’s my opinion. ps. Stephen Colbert you’re so cool.
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March 14th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
It appears that we have some other competition as well… and some extra publicity:
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/announcements/support-gaia-in-the-race-to-space/t.48065995/
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March 14th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Colbert should definitely win.
Originally I was going to vote for Gaia, but when I saw Colbert I just freaked out and…voted for him.
Seriously?
WHO CARES ABOUT SOME LAME SCI-FI FLICK?
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March 14th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Hey Colbert!
Gaiaonline.com has declared war on you too!
We have a super large fan base, so good luck beating us! (plus Gaia is actually a relevant name: the word Gaia originally refers to the Greek goddess of the planet Earth)
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