August 25, 2014 - COLBERT Reports for Duty

COLBERT Reports for Duty The STS-128 mission, launched five years ago this week, carried a small piece of ISS hardware that made big headlines on Earth. In response to NASA’s online naming contest for the Node 3 module already attached to the ISS, comedian Stephen Colbert convinced viewers of his TV show to vote to name it “Colbert,” and it won by a large margin. NASA opted for the name “Tranquility,” but as a concession, it named a new exercise treadmill delivered by the STS-128 crew COLBERT, for “Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill.” In a further show of humor, NASA offered to name the ISS urine processor STEWART, for “Space Toilet Environmental Waste Accumulator/Recycling Thingy,” in honor of fellow comedian Jon Stewart, but Stewart declined.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

August 25-31, 2014

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 25

New Moon 10:13 AM ET

1965: President Johnson approves full-scale development of Manned Orbital Laboratory
1966: Apollo-Saturn 202 launched
1981: Voyager 2 flies past Saturn
1989: Voyager 2 flies past Neptune
2003: Spitzer Space Telescope launched

Tuesday 26

Wednesday 27

Mercury 3° north of Moon
Mars 4° south of Saturn

1962: Mariner 2 launched
1984: Teacher In Space program announced
1985: STS-51I Discovery launched

Thursday 28

1789: William Herschel discovers Enceladus, moon of Saturn
1993: Galileo spacecraft flies by asteroid Ida
2009: STS-128 Discovery launched

Friday 29

Neptune at opposition

Saturday 30

1963: Lunar Orbiter program approved by NASA
1983: STS-8 Challenger launched
1984: STS-41D Discovery launched

Sunday 31

Saturn 0.4° south of Moon
Mars 4° south of Moon