Watch it live: U.S. astronaut on Colbert

NASA is bound to raise its cool quotient this week when an astronaut flying on the International Space Station makes an appearance on Comedy Central's hip hit show "The Colbert Report."

Station flight engineer Garrett Reisman, a New Jersey native who threw out a ceremonial first pitch from the outpost prior to a New York Yankees game against the rival Boston Red Sox last month, will do a space-to-ground interview with Colbert at 10:50 a.m. EDT Thursday. The interview, which will be webcast live here in The Flame Trench, will be aired on "The Colbert Report" at 11:30 p.m. EDT that night.

The producers of the show read stories about Reisman's pitch, contacted NASA, and then arranged the interview, agency spokesman Rob Navias said. "Colbert apparently is not only a sports fan but a space fan," he said.

NASA is not absolutely sure what the popular comedian will be asking Reisman, a fan of the show. Said agency spokesman Mike Curie: "It's up in the air."

Reisman, 40, rocketed up to the station aboard shuttle Endeavour in March and helped deliver and install the first part of the Japanese Kibo science research facility. His ride home, shuttle Discovery, is scheduled to launch with the Kibo laboratory module on May 31 and then return to Earth on June 13.

-- Todd Halvorson