Stephen Colbert Enters Space Race

Fake news pundit rallies the Colbert Nation to vote to name new international space-station room in his honor

By Gina Serpe Mar 11, 2009 3:35 PMTags

Houston, you have a problem. And his name is Stephen Colbert.

The Colbert Report's titular faux blowhard is looking to do for a new room on the international space station what he's already managed on a Hungarian bridge, a San Francisco Zoo-born eagle, a hockey team mascot, a species of trapdoor spider and a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor—get it named after him.

Time will tell if his ego is allowed to boldly go where no one's has gone before.

The ersatz pundit is rallying the Colbert Nation to stuff the electronic ballot box for NASA's naming contest, asking viewers to write in "Colbert" as the name of the new installment. NASA's suggested choices are Serenity, Legacy, Earthrise or Venture.

At latest count, Colbert was beating its closest competitor, Serenity, by nearly 20,000 votes. More than 450,000 votes have been cast to date, and Colbert's is so far the top suggestion of the write-in votes (third, it should be noted, is Xenu).

NASA has yet to comment on whether the room, which includes a machine designed to turn astronauts' urine into drinkable water, will indeed be christened with the Colbert moniker should it edge out the competition or whether they will overrule the decision.

Voting runs through March 20, and the name of the room, currently being referred to as Node 3, will be announced in April.