Colbert’s space treadmill

colbert_treadmill He won, but he also lost.

The top vote-getter in NASA’s online contest to name the new “node 3″ of the International Space Station was a write-in: “Colbert.”

Nod to the 1st moonlanding

But NASA exercised its right to ignore the poll results and decided to name the node “Tranquility”—in honor of Apollo 11. (Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong referred to his landed lunar module as Tranquility Base.)

The Treadmill

Not a node, but a piece of equipment

However, making the announcement on Stephen Colbert’s TV show, astronaut Sunita Williams also announced a consolation prize: a new treadmill on the ISS will be named COLBERT. All caps. Because that’s an acronym for: Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill.

Technically, it’s not named after the TV comedian. But the patch demonstrates otherwise…

Inside Lunar Craters

NASA instruments riding aboard an Indian lunar probe are giving us a new view of the moon: inside craters. Cold, dark craters—north and south The first pictures show craters at the lunar poles—both north and south. Scientists hope to find water ice inside. But the instruments are still being calibrated and prepared for a more [...]

To the post »

Rally for space flight

A group called “SaveSpace” is planning an April 11th rally to rescue the Constellation space program and NASA’s all but canceled plans for an ambitious manned program beyond earth orbit. At least 3 astronauts—Jon McBride, Bob Springer and Winston Scott—will address the crowd. Also attending: a congressman, a senator and a governor. Of course, it’s [...]

To the post »

NASA’s failing infrastructure

The recent safety report by NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Board notes that NASA’s infrastructure is deteriorating and poses a safety threat. Over 80 percent of NASA facilities are beyond their design life, and annual maintenance is underfunded.1 Facilities continue to degrade and facilities failures are starting to impact missions and have safety implications Agency-wide. Evidence [...]

To the post »

Colbert’s space treadmill

Subscribe by Email!

Twitter: TheSpaceBuff

Other Great Sites!

Random Posts

Inside Lunar Craters

Rally for space flight

NASA’s failing infrastructure