It was the cost in converting Enterprise that made her non-orbital capable.Īnd some of Enterprise's parts were reused on flight orbiters, including Columbia. Anyone know what became of this?Įnterprise was originally to be a flight vehicle, hence its designation as OV (for Orbital Vehicle) rather than STA (for Static Test Article). I remember a related issue: at one time, NASA requested generic name names to be proposed for what later became the Space Transportation System/Space Shuttle. How ironic that none of the first four orbiter names are listed among the 15 ("Discoverer" doesn't really count) BUT the orbiter that the public voted on is on this list.Īnother ironic thing is that the Trekkers (aka Trekkies) should have been more patient and waited/called for the first flight capable orbiter, and requested it to be named "Enterprise", not the test vehicle. Recommendations by an ad hoc committee on names for Space Shuttle Orbiters chose "names having significant relationship to the heritage of the United States or to the Shuttle's mission of exploration." With credit to Valerie Neal, here is the list per a memo from the Associate Administrator for Space Transportation Systems (John Yardley) to the Director, Public Affairs on the subject: Recommended Orbiter Names.
#Nasa space shuttle names list full
I look forward to learning the story of how the "jewel of the fleet" got her name.ĭo you have the full list of the 15 names that were recommended? I never knew Columbia wasn't on the list. The efforts by thousands of Star Trek fans changed that. It was rolled out of the plant on Constitution Day in our Bicentennial Year: Septem(my 20th birthday). I know Constitution was going to be the original name for Enterprise. One of our Young Astronaut Chapers in Middletown, CT also submitted the name Endeavour but were not creditied with the choice because besides the name students had to submit the reason the name was chosen. Was it because of McAuliffe on Challenger that a nationwide naming contest by children be held, rather than use Enterprise?Įndeavour (note the proper English spelling) was named in 1989 or 1990 by a contest held for elementary and high school children. who came up with the name?Īs well, Dennis Jenkins' "History of the National Space Transportation System" tells of a suggestion that Enterprise be reused for OV-105, if that was ever built. Do you have the full list of the 15 names that were recommended? Were Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, or Endeavor on the list? I'm also curious at what point Endeavor got her name.Ĭolumbia was not on that list. Kitty Hawk was 11th in a prioritized list of 15 names headed by Constitution and Independence. McCall's mural at JSC was dedicated on June 6, 1979. 79-10, "Shuttle Orbiters Named after Sea Vessels". ( Columbia was not on that list.) NASA announced the names of the four orbiter fleet on January 25, 1979, in press release no. May 1978 - a naming committee that was formed at NASA HQ reported a list of recommended "names having a significant relationship to the heritage of the United States or to the shuttle's mission of exploration." Kitty Hawk was 11th in a prioritized list of 15 names headed by Constitution and Independence. 1978 - Office of Public Affairs internal memo suggested that Orbiter 102 be named Kitty Hawk
Here is the timeline as referenced by NASA memos of the day (thanks to Valerie Neal at the National Air and Space Museum for her help with researching these): May 1977 - naming process not yet started, according to a letter from the Associate Admininstrator for External Affairs
Unless NASA was keeping things a secret, I thought that press releases at that time (circa 1979) already were using Columbia instead of OV-102. If John Young approached artist Robert McCall around 1979 to do the STS-1 patch, and Young and Bob Crippen wanted the shuttle to be named "Kitty Hawk," at what point in OV-102's construction history was she given the name Columbia? Topic: OV-102: Kitty Hawk, Columbia and other names Profile | register | preferences | faq | search OV-102: Kitty Hawk, Columbia and other names *** Note 3: Flights with the orbiter attached to the SCA for the duration, but both crewed and powered to test crew procedures and orbiter systems.OV-102: Kitty Hawk, Columbia and other names - collectSPACE: Messages
** Note 2: The durations listed count only the orbiter free-flight time, and not total time aloft along with airborne time atop of the 747 SCA.
#Nasa space shuttle names list series
These were atmospheric only, non-spaceflight tests from a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, both with the orbiter attached and for a series of drop-test flights. * Note 1: In this year, Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) were accomplished.
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