Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – Colbert in Space, Part Deux

Greetings, Zoners! What did you all think about NASA’s name game on Tuesday’s show? I know many people thought that NASA should’ve honored the results of the vote and named Node 3 “Colbert,” but most folks seem to be content with the results. I think NASA came up with a good compromise. They chose a name for the node that honors the history of space exploration, and at the same time rewarded Stephen for all of the attention he’s brought to the ISS and the space program by naming their new high-tech treadmill after him. I think he was very pleased about it. I definitely saw a flash of that gleeful smile of his when Sunita Williams announced how the name “Colbert” would get into space. Kudos to the folks at NASA for coming up with a name with such an impressive acronym!

Everybody and their uncle covered this story — even Scientific American had to add their $.02 — so I thought I’d highlight a few of the most interesting news stories to appear on the Interwebs the past couple of days.

• NASA names treadmill after Colbert – Associated Press

  “Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, said, ‘We have invited Stephen to Florida for the launch of COLBERT and to Houston to try out a version of the treadmill that astronauts train on.’”

• Station Module Named ‘Tranquility’ to honor Apollo 11 – NASA.gov

  “‘We selected ‘Tranquility’ because it ties it to exploration and the moon, and symbolizes the spirit of international cooperation embodied by the space station.’”

• “COLBERT” goes up into space – CliqueClack TV

  “Trust me, the name ‘COLBERT’ will be uttered so often on NASA TV your head will spin — and on top of that, the treadmill is so important for keeping the astronauts healthy that it will always be more important than the ‘box’ that is Node three — around Colbert.”

• COLBERT treadmill? NASA tips visor to Colbert Nation’s vote – Christian Science Monitor, Discoveries blog

  “The gravitas of the International Space Station is safe… The treadmill shall henceforth be known as the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill… It was a politic end to a corner the agency painted itself into by opening the contest to ‘write-in’ names.” (The editor’s note at the end of the article is good for a laugh.)

Here are a couple of articles on Orbitec, the Wisconsin company providing the software for the COLBERT training system.

• Madison space company helps build Colbert Treadmill – WKOWTV.com, Madison, WI

  “There are nearly 800 parts to the COLBERT. Orbitec officials say the simulation allows astronauts to get it right the first time… ‘The whole process is going to take two astronauts 18 hours to build this,’ says Gustafson. (There’s an IKEA joke in there somewhere…–Ed.)

• Middleton Company’s Software To Be Used on Space Station – Channel3000, WISCTV.com

  “In space, you have to be bungeed down to your treadmill. If you tried to run on a normal treadmill, you would just float away.”

Here’s a bit more on the treadmill–

• NASA Walks All Over C.O.L.B.E.R.T. – TMZ

  The article is very brief, but the picture is worth a look. I’m guessing this is how the astronauts train to use the COLBERT. It looks terribly uncomfortable to me, and more than a little strange.

• Huntsville company MediaFusion designs Colbert treadmill patch – Huntsville Times (Huntsville, AL)

  An article about the company who designed the patch that will accompany the COLBERT.

And finally, a tip of the hat (sort of) to Colbert Nation–

• Colbert Nation – Cooperation blog (A blog post about Colbert Nation in general, and how Stephen is able to mobilize the Nation when he wants to accomplish something – like getting part of a space station named after him.)

  “He uses his authority and their commitment to make an impact on the Internet – a perfect example of using technology (television and the Internet) to assemble and organize a group of people on a moment’s notice. … It may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a smart mob, but that is certainly what Colbert has been able to build. Colbert Nation tunes in on TV and the Internet, heeds his call, and quickly cooperates to make their presence felt. Sure, this smart mob is likely causing more harm than good, but nobody ever said smart mobs had to be helpful mobs.” (No no, we exist only to do good! – Ed.)

I hope Stephen takes up NASA on their invitation to visit them to try out the treadmill for himself, and to be in Florida for the launch of the shuttle flight that will take the new treadmill to the ISS. The COLBERT is scheduled to go to the ISS in August, and the new node “Tranquility” will head up there next year.

(h/t DB, Ms. I, and Jennie)