And the people have spoken. The newest node (Node #3) to the International Space Station will be named (drum roll please)...COLBERT! As in American late night satirist/news anchor Stephen Colbert. That's right. After NASA opened up the naming process for the next module for the ISS, Colbert urged his fans to write-in an entry using his name: Colbert. The Colbert entry beat NASA's suggested "Serenity" by 40,000 votes. Needless to say, NASA will have the final say in the official naming of the space station module.
But why is NASA surprised by these results? This isn't the first time Colbert has utilized his massive fan base to vote for his name to appear on some structure. Recall, the Megyeri Bridge in Hungary. The Hungarian government opened the naming of the bridge to voters via the internet and low-and-behold, Colbert came out victorious, beating out American action hero Chuck Norris.
One must also ask the question, "Is having a part of the International Space Station named after a comedian necessarily a bad thing?" Colbert is known the world over (he is, to say the least, "international"). And he has had a profound impact on the way Americans watch late night television and get their daily news. But more importantly, Stephen Colbert is an icon and would add a certain amount of coolness to the ever boring names of other ISS components, like Unity (Node 1) and Harmony (Node 2).
So NASA, please, seriously take naming the third node "Colbert" in an effort to pimp your interplanetary ride.
-Brandon
