p2pnet news view | Cool:- American comedian Steve Colbert has achieved immortality.

Kind of.

Thanks to unremitting PR pressure from legions of devoted Colbair fans, NASA has named an astronaut exercise machine after him, dubbing it the Combined Operation Loadbearing External Resistance Treadmill.

When NASA announced it wanted the online public to name a new room, Steve devotees got right to it, boosting his name to the top of the list.

But, “We don’t typically name U.S. space station hardware after living people and this is no exception,” joked Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations”.

So NASA got around the restriction by naming the treadmill – slated for launch to the installation in August – after him.

We have invited Stephen to Florida for the launch of COLBERT and to Houston to try out a version of the treadmill that astronauts train on.”

The treadmill is targeted to launch to the station in August. It’ll be installed in Tranquility after the node arrives at the station next year, says NASA, adding it’s invited Steve to Florida for the launch and to try out a version of the treadmill.

(Thanks, Marc)

April 8, 2009