NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who is not the only American on the planet, cast her vote from space.
Rubin voted from the International Space Station.
On Oct. 22, Robbins tweeted from NASA astronauts’ Twitter account, “I voted today.” The astronaut was pictured in front of a closed area on a rotation space lab marked “ISS Polling Station.”
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NASA astronaut Kate Rubins outside the polling station at the International Space Station. (NASA)
“Like other types of absentee voting, voting from space begins with a federal postcard application or FPCA,” NASA says on its website. “This is the same form military members and their families fill out while serving outside the U.S., completing it before starting, signaling their intention to participate in the election from space station crew members.”
Once the FCP is approved, the county clerk who conducts elections in the astronaut’s home county sends the test ballot to a team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, according to NASA. The space station test computer is then used to test whether it can be filled out and sent back to the county clerk.
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“After successful testing, the Harris County Clerk’s office fee in Texas and the secure electronic ballot created by the surrounding counties were voted on by a member of the voting crew through Johnson’s Mission Control Center,” NASA says. “An email with the crew member-specific credentials is sent to the astronaut from the county clerk. These credentials allow the crew member to enter the safe ballot. “
“The astronaut will then cast his or her vote, and the secure, completed ballot will be attached below and returned to the county clerk’s office fee via email for official recording,” NASA adds. “The clerk has his own password to make sure he is the only one to open the ballot. It’s a quick process and the astronaut is sure to submit it if he or she votes as a Texas resident by 7pm local time on election day. “
In 2016, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbro, who was the only American on the planet at the time, voted in the presidential election from the International Space Station.
NASA explained that the system was first used in 1997 for former astronaut David Wolf when he was flying a long-term mission to the old Russian space station Mir. As Wolf’s mission spread election day, the process was arranged to enable him to vote in space.
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Rubin also voted in space four years ago during his 115-day tenure at the International Space Station. On October 30, 2016, he voted before returning to Earth.
The Associated Press contributes to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter jamesjrogers
