Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!tneff
From: tneff@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Neff)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Shuttle orbiter-naming competition (Forwarded)
Message-ID: <5441@dasys1.UUCP>
Date: 11 Jul 88 16:26:27 GMT
References: <11378@ames.arc.nasa.gov> <772@noao.UUCP> <5402@dasys1.UUCP> <2285@sugar.UUCP>
Reply-To: tneff@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Neff)
Organization: Independent Users Guild
Lines: 29

In article <2285@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <5402@dasys1.UUCP>, tneff@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Neff) writes:
>> OK, so NASA wants to name the new Orbiter after a research/exploration
>> ocean vessel.
>
>> So we're left, mostly, with American and (tamer) British names.  It
>> would be nice to see a list of candidates.
>
>How about "Endeavour"? This was the vessel in which Captain James Cook
>discovered the east coast of Australia (and ended the Dreamtime). Joseph
>Banks was the chief scientist (naturalist) on board.

Clearly an odds-on favorite, except you wonder if NASA would keep the
Anglicized "ou" spelling.  Between that and the "ea" this would be the
most misspelled shuttle name on this net, by a country mile. :-)

>Or, how about the "Beagle"?

Again, a super name EXCEPT that the darn Orbiter looks too much like a
beagle already!  This would almost certainly be seen as whimsical by
the public at large and "Snoopy" would be the guaranteed nickname.  I
would get a hoot out of it personally but NASA would have a cow.

I am going to look at a naval exploration book this evening and see if
there are any terrific candidates at hand.
-- 
Tom Neff			UUCP: ...!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!tneff
	"None of your toys	CIS: 76556,2536	       MCI: TNEFF
	 will function..."	GEnie: TOMNEFF	       BIX: t.neff (no kidding)