While an extra two electoral votes was not likely to sway the emphatic opinion of a American nation intent on pursuing governmental change, NASA astronauts aboard the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) still managed to exercise their rights as U.S. citizens.
U.S. astronauts Fincke and Chamitoff register their votes from orbit aboard the ISS. Image: NASA.
More pointedly, despite not being in close proximity to a polling booth in their home states, ISS commander Michael Fincke and flight engineer Greg Chamitoff took the opportunity to beam their votes down to Earth via a special and secure electronic balloting system.
With the astronauts’ presidential selections duly routed to their local County Clerk’s offices by NASA Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Fincke and Chamitoff also took the opportunity to appear on a NASA TV broadcast imploring U.S. citizens to get out and vote.
“Today is voting day aboard the International Space Station,” said Commander Fincke as the station continued its orbit some 220 miles (354kms) above the planet.
“It’s also to show the rest of our country that [though] I’m so busy up in space, even I can vote, so you on the ground should be able to vote, too,” he added while talking to SPACE.com.
“If we can vote from up here, so can you,” agreed flight engineer Chamitoff.
The two astronauts were able to participate in the election process from space thanks to a Texas state law passed in 1997 enabling those living off Earth to still register their votes.
Former astronaut Leroy Chiao became the very first NASA crew member to beam his vote in a U.S. presidential race while commanding an exhibition aboard the International Space Station in 2004.
Fincke and Chamitoff become only the fifth and sixth U.S. citizens to cast a vote from space since the Texas state law was passed.
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