NASA's
naming contest for a new space station module now faces a fresh challenger in
the form of comedian Stephen Colbert.
Colbert
urged fans to put his name in the running
on Tuesday's episode of his fake-conservative show "The Colbert
Report" on Comedy Central, after dismissing the four NASA-chosen names —
Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity and Venture.
"Those
aren't space
modules, those are organic teas," Colbert said. "But you know
what name would look fantastic on the side of that module? Colbert!"
Viewers
of the show responded quickly. By Wednesday, Colbert celebrated seeing his name
rocket to the top of the write-in list, beating out former favorite
"Xenu" which refers to a galactic ruler in Scientology's teachings.
"Folks,
I'm telling you, if we keep this up until the contest ends on March 20, my name
will live forever — or at least until that node burns up in a fiery
reentry," Colbert said on Wednesday's show. "Which is how I'd like to
go out myself."
Node
3 is scheduled for launch in 2009, and contains eight fridge-sized racks that
can house much of the space station's life support systems. An observation deck
attachment would offer astronauts sweeping views of both Earth and space, with
six windows that also allow space station residents to see what they're doing
when controlling the International Space Station's 57-foot robotic arm.
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.
The
International Space Station previously made an appearance on "The Colbert
Report" when Colbert received an orbital
call from astronaut Garrett Reisman. The comedian bolstered his claim to
Node 3 by saying that the space station owed him for the publicity.
"I
already gave it the Colbert
bump when I talked to astronaut Garrett Reisman when he was posted up
there," Colbert noted on Tuesday. "Oh and surprise, it's now the
number one space station in orbit."
The
International Space Station is currently the only continuously crewed outpost
in orbit. The $100 billion orbital lab is the result of a 16-nation
partnership.
Colbert
also referred to when video game designer Richard Garriott brought a digital
version of Colbert's
DNA up to the space station.
"And
as we all know, once your DNA is on something, it's yours," Colbert said.
"It works with break room doughnuts."
However,
Keaton pointed out that "Mr. Colbert has some catch-up work to do if he
wants to beat Serenity," noting that the frontrunners may yet change over
the remaining two weeks.
"I
can't say before the contest closes whether Mr. Colbert can win or
not, though we wish him the best of luck," Keaton said.
Click here to
cast your vote at NASA's Node 3 Web site through March 20.
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