In a US presidential election that's already been out of this world, the lone American astronaut in outer space has cast his vote, NASA said on Monday.
Shane Kimbrough became the latest astronaut to keep up with NASA’s tradition "Vote while you float" to cast his vote while, inside the orbiting International Space Station.
Kimbrough rode a Russian Soyuz rocket to the ISS on 19 October to start a four-month mission at the research outpost, along with two Russian cosmonauts.
US astronauts have been allowed to vote from space since 1997, under Texas law. Most astronauts live in the Houston area, home to NASA's mission control and Johnson Space Centre.
The first American to vote from space was David Wolf, who cast his ballot from the Russian space station Mir.
Current space station resident astronaut Shane Kimbrough is the most recent astronaut to take advantage of the opportunity.NASA
Before launching on the mission, Kimbrough said it was going to be special, being able to say "I voted from space."
The previous US space station resident, Kate Rubins, also cast an absentee ballot from up there, before returning to Earth a week ago, according to NASA.
A secure electronic ballot is forwarded to the astronauts by Mission Control in Houston and returned by email to the county clerk.
By the time he's back on Earth in February, America will have a new commander-in-chief. Astronauts are "pretty much apolitical," he told reporters last month. "And I'll be glad to welcome the new president, whoever that is."
There was no word from NASA or Kimbrough on which candidate he picked for president.
(With inputs from AP, PTI)
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