HUNTSVILLE, AL -- While Stephen Colbert playfully traded barbs with NASA in an effort to get his name splashed across a Marshall Space Flight Center-managed International Space Station piece, MediaFusion employees were quietly designing a patch that will put the Comedy Central star on what the space agency sees as his proper place -- a treadmill.

Huntsville's MediaFusion designed the special patch that marks the exercise equipment - the COLBERT - the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill - station crews will now be able to jump on to get in a good workout in space.

"It was loads of fun to see it come together," said Richard Williams, MediaFusion's Huntsville spokesman. "This was a great way for NASA to reach out to the public, and especially those twenty-somethings they want to engage."

MediaFusion has a contract with NASA Headquarters, in Washington D.C., to perform graphic design and communications work. The company also works with Marshall to produce animated videos and graphics. Colbert spent the past six weeks playfully jabbing at the space agency to name a Marshall Space Flight Center-managed piece - Node 3 - of the space station after him, saying repetedly that NASA's suggested names were "slightly less than inspiring and pretty much boring."

Colbert was not satisfied with NASA's suggested names: Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity and Venture.

The node Colbert wanted his name splashed across will be named "Tranquility." It is planned for a 2010 launch, but the COLBERT is slated to be placed on another segment of the International Space Station in August.

"So Tranquility is the box that houses the COLBERT," Colbert told NASA astronaut Suni Williams who informed him on air of the decision to name the exercise equipment after him.

NASA counted more than 1.1 million votes and pondered, but opted to name the piece "Tranquility" instead of the top vote getter - Serenity. NASA opted for "Tranquility" to honor Tranquility Base the location of man's first landing on the moon -- the July 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

On Feb 20, NASA asked for public suggestions to name the Marshall Space Flight Center-managed Node 3, which will be used to expand the space station and connect other pieces of the floating laboratory being built by 15 nations.

Colbert was not easily diverted from the quest to extend his comedic empire into space. He even offered to name himself the "Stephen Urine Filtration System" if NASA would name the piece after him. NASA did not respond to his plea.

To view a video of Colbert's elation over his new role within NASA watch below: