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Author
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Topic: OV-102: Kitty Hawk, Columbia and other names
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Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 04-11-2006 12:56 PM
   
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? 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. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-11-2006 01:54 PM
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 AffairsJan. 1978 — Office of Public Affairs internal memo suggested that Orbiter 102 be named Kitty Hawk 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. (Columbia was not on that list.) NASA announced the names of the four orbiter fleet on January 25, 1979, in press release no. 79-10, "Shuttle Orbiters Named after Sea Vessels".McCall's mural at JSC was dedicated on June 6, 1979. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-11-2006 03:45 PM
Kitty Hawk was 11th in a prioritized list of 15 names headed by Constitution and Independence. 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. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 04-11-2006 03:48 PM
Columbia was not on that list. So if Columbia wasn't on the list... who came up with the name? |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 04-11-2006 03:50 PM
As 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. Was it because of McAuliffe on Challenger that a nationwide naming contest by children be held, rather than use Enterprise? |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-11-2006 06:39 PM
Endeavour (note the proper English spelling) was named in 1989 or 1990 by a contest held for elementary and high school children. 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.I know Constitution was going to be the original name for Enterprise. It was rolled out of the plant on Constitution Day in our Bicentennial Year: September 17, 1976 (my 20th birthday). The efforts by thousands of Star Trek fans changed that. I never knew Columbia wasn't on the list. I look forward to learning the story of how the "jewel of the fleet" got her name. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-12-2006 10:04 AM
quote:
Originally posted by mjanovec:
Do you have the full list of the 15 names that were recommended?
With credit to Valerie Neal, here is the list per a May 26, 1978 memo from the Associate Administrator for Space Transportation Systems (John Yardley) to the Director, Public Affairs on the subject: Recommended Orbiter Names. 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."Recommended List of Orbiter Names
(In descending order of preference) - Constitution
- Independence
- America
- Constellation
- Enterprise [reserved for possible 5th orbiter, to carry on OV-101's name]
- Discoverer
- Endeavour
- Liberty
- Freedom
- Eagle
- Kitty Hawk
- Pathfinder
- Adventurer
- Prospector
- Peace
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mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 04-12-2006 11:04 PM
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. |
astroborg
Member Posts: 200
From: Woodbridge, VA, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 04-13-2006 08:11 AM
Another 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. |
lucspace
Member Posts: 403
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 04-13-2006 09:10 AM
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. Anyone know what became of this? |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 04-13-2006 01:08 PM
quote:
Originally posted by astroborg:
Another 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.
Enterprise was originally to be a flight vehicle, hence its designation as OV (for Orbital Vehicle) rather than STA (for Static Test Article). It was the cost in converting Enterprise that made her non-orbital capable.And some of Enterprise's parts were reused on flight orbiters, including Columbia. I would love to have a scrapped part from one of the orbiters which can be traced back to Enterprise. But think of this: Had Enterprise been converted and the second orbiter to fly, would she have been lost instead of Challenger? Or, if Enterprise wasn't lost, NASA would have had two orbiters with a severe payload penalty due to their weight, and unable to take part in ISS assembly tasks (although Columbia was due to be modified for a station docking with STS-118). |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 08-17-2016 10:46 AM
In a comment on the NASA History Facebook page, there is referenced an intriguing NASA memo: Star Trek fans apparently didn't want to stop with naming OV-101 Enterprise, instead of Constitution. Trek fans wanted OV-102, which became Columbia, to be named Discovery instead, after the ship in 2001. Wonder if the objection to this also stopped the STS-1 crew wanting 102 to be named Kitty Hawk... and if OV-103, which was Discovery, was independently named so or if it was retconned to being named after a real-life ship of exploration. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-17-2016 11:00 AM
The comment notes that the memo was dated Nov. 2, 1977 and quotes Herbert Rowe, the Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for External Relations: It is my understanding that the name suggested by Trekies (sic) at this time for Orbiter 102 is Discovery. This is the name of the space ship in "2001 A Space Odyssey" ... Mr. Newman and I suggest that we return to our original recommendation of Constitution. We also recommend the early naming of the ship so that a concentrated effort from outside the agency does not thwart our plans." As noted earlier, a later memo (in January 1978) suggested that OV-102 be named Kitty Hawk, so it would seem it did not specifically put an end to that name.NASA did however, decide to name the first four orbiters at one time to avoid further write-in campaigns like the one that named OV-101. The committee that advised on the selection of the names seems to have included Discovery for its role as a ship of exploration ("Names of Famous Explorers' Vessels"), as that was one of the categories they considered for the orbiters. |
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