As the leader of the free world, the US starts its massive exercise to elect its next President who is to become the most influential leader of the globe. The voting will start from the morning and will end at 11.30 on the night. Among the electorate will include serving personals and also American astronauts who are circling the planet on what is the farthest outpost of mankind.
The two astronauts who are orbiting the Earth in the ISS some 240 miles above and hurtling at 17,000 miles per hour have cast their votes from space.
As per a statement by NASA, astronaut Shane Kimbrough has officially filed his electronic absentee ballot from the International Space Station (ISS) while another astronaut Kate Rubins cast her vote before returning to Earth last week.
The possibility of technical voting procedure for astronauts was made possible when legislation was passed by the Texas legislature in 1997. The two astronauts are the residents of Houston where the Johnson Space Centre is located.
The process of the voting by the astronauts started almost six months when a standard form: the “Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request – Federal Post Card Application” was given to the astronauts. The first instance of space voting happened in 1997 when the legislation was passed. The first astronaut to vote in the space was NASA astronaut David Wolf who was a co-passenger on the Russian Mir Space Station. The latest in this series is Shane Kimbrough, a resident of the ISS.
What is different when it comes to the experience of voting in space? One advantage is –no need to stand in the line to vote like other earthlings. However, the disadvantage is you will miss out the coveted “I Voted sticker.”
