NASA Names Space Treadmill C.O.L.B.E.R.T.

In what many will consider the 'lamest' move in the history of the tech universe, NASA has dismissed a recent attempt by Comedy Central's Steven Colbert to have the International Space Station's new living quarters bear his name. Despite a landslide vote in favor of Colbert's moniker, NASA went with "Tranquility" instead.

230,539 Vote 'Colbert'

The poll went something like this: NASA asked visitors to its site to select from four predetermined options, including Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, and Venture. However, it also left users the option of filling in their own suggestion -- opening the door to Colbert, who according to many reports, "hijacked" the contest by asking his fans flood the website with votes for his name.

They listened: 230,539 people voted for "Colbert," with Serenity a distant, distant second.

Surprisingly, "Tranquility" wasn't even in the running. However, after much thought, NASA decided to shrug off the contest altogether, ignoring not only the legion of "Colbert" fans (responsible for bringing some modicum of interest to the space program), but anyone who selected its own, carefully selected options Serenity, Earthrise, Legacy, or Venture. Tranquility, for its part, has been used to honor the Apollo 11 lunar landing, which took place nearly four decades ago.

'C.O.L.B.E.R.T.' ... the Space Treadmill

"We don't typically name US space station hardware after living people and this is no exception," explained NASA associate administrator of space operations Bill Gerstenmaier. (Source: theregister.co.uk)

Not everyone at NASA is a party pooper, however. It has agreed to name the space station's treadmill the 'Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill,' or C.O.L.B.E.R.T. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that Colbert and his fans brought so much attention to the space program; in addition to the treadmill honor, Mr. Steven Colbert has been invited to Florida and Houston for the device's unveiling and tryout. (Source: zdnet.com)