TVSquad

If the much-delayed launch of the space shuttle Discovery does indeed happen tonight (at 11:59PM ET) , the astronauts are going to be wearing patches, like they always do. But this time the COLBERT treadmill is on the shuttle so the crew is going to be wearing the patch to the right. Is that cool or what? How do we get one?

The Space Shuttle Discovery was supposed to launch around 1:30 this morning, but bad weather in Florida means it has been put off until the same time tonight. On board will be the COLBERT, the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill, named after the host of a certain late night comedy show. In this video, that host thanks NASA.

Update: tonight's launch has been scrubbed.

OK, so Stephen Colbert couldn't get NASA to name a room on the International Space Station after him, but they did the next best thing. Well, no. I guess the next best thing would have been to have a shuttle or a satellite or possibly a bespectacled robot named after him, but they did name a treadmill after him! And here it is.

Not particularly exciting at first glance, but hey, it's a space treadmill!

Chalk up another win for the Colbert Nation. Maybe, or not. Whatever.

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams will appear on tonight's Colbert Report to announce the winning name that will go on the International Space Station's module.

For those of you who aren't in the know and therefore aren't cool, here's the skinny. NASA held an online vote to field suggestions on names for a new module on the space station. Colbert rallied his legion of ballot stuffing zombies to nominate his name and the name "Colbert" eventually garnered the most votes.

An open letter to the folks at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration:

You have done some mighty fine things over the years. You've put a man not just in space, but on the moon. You've invented devices that have reached the farthest corners of space (some haven't made it back, but that's another letter). You invented Tang.

Technically, that's about it, at least if you don't count the hilarious, million dollar mistakes that have provided wonks like me with hours of depressing entertainment. But that leads me to my point.

He's already had an ice cream flavor and a hockey team mascot named after him (among other things), now the host of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert, is shooting for the stars and trying to get a section of the international space station named after him.

Colbert has a remarkable ability to create controversy, the best example being his speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner. With the exception of the aforementioned, all his controversy doesn't seem to be very controversial. It's as if, with the exception of the previous administration and their acolytes, everyone gets the joke.

In all likelihood, this will lead to nothing since the small print of NASA's web site says that they have the right to overturn the voting results. But we can dream.

I just wonder if the section he's trying to get named after himself is, in fact, the toilet facilities. That would be irony at its finest.

After 16 years, Miles O'Brien is leaving CNN.

The reason? CNN has decided to get rid of their science/tech/environment/space division, because nothing ever happens in science, technology, the environment, or space. The network says that they're getting rid of the division because the "Planet in Peril" series already covers all of that stuff, and they'll just integrate the rest of the science coverage into their regular news. Translation: more cost-cutting in the news business.

It's kind of sad to see O'Brien go. Just a couple of years ago he was the co-host of American Morning with Soledad O'Brien, and then he lost that gig and went back to covering space and technology, and now that coverage is gone. It was always good to have him around for space shuttle launches and for his expertise when their was a problem with a plane or a plane crash.

I'm sure they'll still cover space shuttle launches, but now they'll be hosted by D.L. Hughley and Nancy Grace. (Kidding)

The name might not immediately ring a bell, but you know who he is. Jay Barbree is the guy who reports for NBC/MSNBC whenever there is space news or a shuttle launch. It seems like he's had the job forever, and actually, he has. Yesterday Barbree celebrated 50 years of reporting on the space program for the network. In fact, Barbree is the only journalist to cover every single manned mission that the U.S. space program has had, starting in the early 60s. When NASA started the "teacher in space" program in the 1980s, they also started a "journalist in space" program, and Barbree was one of the 40 finalists (both were shut down after the Challenger explosion).

One thing I didn't know was that Barbree also wrote the novel Pilot Error, which was based on an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. He also wrote the book Moon Shot, which was made into a TV documentary in 1994. Happy 50 years, Jay.

"The Wrong Stuff", "Space Oddity", "Astronut", "Lust in Space", "Very Accomplished Woman in Tragic Local Story": All you need to know about the crazy astronaut lady's story? Diapers!

Senior Space Correspondent Rob Riggle talked about how the astronaut's driving was really a NASA mission. Senior Continental Revenge Trek Analyst Samantha Bee then stopped by to share her expertise on continental revenge treks. "It's drive across the country in a diaper time!... Or as I call it, 'Tuesday'".

There's a lot of good programs on television, and there's always something new popping up that catches my interest. However, I rarely get too excited about what gets beamed into my living room from the ol' idiot box. In this instance, though, I have to say I'm a lot more curious than usual.

I'm talking about In the Shadow of the Moon, a new documentary from Discovery Films that screened recently at Sundance and will also premiere at some point on the Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater, takes a look at the Apollo moon missions and brings together the surviving astronauts from those missions to talk about their experience. I'm a total sucker for anything having to do with space exploration. One of my favorite things to watch on television is those satellite images of Earth shown on the NASA channel. I find it oddly comforting.

I quick search of Discovery's site didn't pull up any info on the documentary, but I'll keep my eye out for when it might air.

(S03E11) This was great Numb3rs episode. It made you think beyond just what was going on with Don and the team, especially since it dealt with such a hot topic: sex offenders. Despite the obviousness of the overall theme for this show being math, I still find it incredibly entertaining when they apply algebraic principles and theories to things that I would never think to apply them to. Credit to the writers and producing team behind Numb3rs, because the amount of research that goes into each episode must be staggering.

It's no secret that the hyperactive Rachael Ray has her hands in a little bit of everything. She has a number of hit shows on the Food Network, a daily talk show, numerous cookbooks, her own magazine, and a upcoming CD of holiday music (not sung by her, just chosen by her). Now, she is taking her on her biggest challenge: outer space.

No, she's not launching her own line of spaceships (although, powered by her own energy, those craft could probably get to Mars in two weeks). What she is doing is having her meals taste tested on the next space shuttle mission, which will hopefully be launching this evening if everything goes as planned. Yessir, the crew of the Discovery will be testing out three of Rachael's signature dishes. And there's a pretty good guarantee that one of them (or all of them) will contain some EVOO as an ingredient (that's Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the rest of you).

Rachael Ray is not the first TV chef to have her meals adapted for space flight. Emeril Lagasse has had a number of items on the menus of both the space shuttle and the International Space Station. In fact, according to Dr. Michele Perchonok, manager of NASA's Space Foods System Laboratory, Emeril's spicy green beans and rice pudding adapted quite well to zero gravity conditions. I wonder if one of Rachael's stoups (not quite stew, and not quite soup) will fare as well.

We all know the famous words astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered when he first set foot on the surface of the moon: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." That quote has been burned into our collective conscience for years, but if you think about it, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Armstrong has always insisted that he said, "That's one small step for A man, one giant leap for mankind," and a recent analysis of the audio by an Australian computer programmer may have finally validated Armstrong's claim. Peter Shann Ford studied a graphical representation of the quote, and found evidence that the elusive "A" was transmitted to NASA. Hell, even without the "A" that's still a damn good quote from the first person to ever step onto the surface of the moon. I'm sure if it were me it would just be a lot of screaming and crying.

(S01E09) Real events inspired this episode. Chris Carter says he wrote Space after seeing the real 'face on Mars' photograph. According to the experts over at The X-Files wiki, this episode was meant to be a cheaply made one with lots of NASA footage but the construction of the command center pushed them over budget and made Space the most expensive episode of the season. Whoops.

CBS is the only network that has opted not to interrupt its programming tomorrow afternoon to cover the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (FOX is in local access at that time). NBC and ABC will both cut in with reporters stationed in Florida and space shuttle experts on hand. NBC is planning to have NBC Sports break away from the U.S. Women's Open Championship to news anchor John Seigenthaler just before the launch, which is scheduled for 3:39 pm ET. CBS says it will have reporters at the event but will wait until the evening news to air its coverage. MSNBC, CNN, and FOX Newschannel will no doubt be going whole hog with their coverage, constantly reminding us of the shuttle tragedy in February 2003 when Columbia broke up as it entered the earth's atmosphere. Sadly, that tragedy is the reason the news networks even care about this launch, which is delivering two tons of supplies to the International Space Station. It took the deaths of seven brave astronauts for the mass media to remember that America even has a space program.