William Atkins
Saturday, 11 April 2009 19:57
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 3
U.S. astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams will appear on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to make an announcement on the naming of the Node 3 module on the International Space Station. Will it be a surprising announcement or not? Find out on April 14th!
According to the Friday, April 10, 2009 media release, “
NASA to announce new space station module name April 14,” the space agency will publicly announce the name of its new Node 3 on Stephen Colbert’s show
“The Colbert Report.”
The show will air at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 on the TV station Comedy Central. Check you local listing for the time in your area.
International Space Station Expedition 14 and 15 astronaut
Sunita “Suni” Williams will appear on the show to deliver the announcement.
She may be best remembered as the
first marathon runner in space when she participated in the 2007 Boston Marathon while on the Space Station. She finished the race in four hours, 24 minutes, 10 seconds, while her teammates fed her oranges during the race.
In 2008, Williams participated again in the Boston Marathon, but this time running on terra firma.
The NASA contest “
Help NASA Name Node 3” asked people to vote for four possible names (Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, and Venture) for the Node 3 but they were also allowed to write in votes.
After the poll closed on March 20, NASA found that the name “Colbert” had garnered over 230,000 votes for a first place finish, while Serenity had tallied in at second place with 40,000.
According to the NASA website,
"Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the Node 3 components during the STS-130
mission targeted for December 2009. Once the cupola is attached to one of the
module’s six ports, it will offer astronauts a spectacular view of both their
home planet and their home in space."
And,
"The cupola’s six rectangular windows and
one circular window overhead will show a panoramic view that will be unrivaled
by any other spacecraft ever flown."
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