Author Topic: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?  (Read 157201 times)

Online Orbiter

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Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« on: 09/30/2012 05:53 pm »
Will SLS ever be known by a name other than 'SLS'?
« Last Edit: 01/16/2018 11:57 am by Orbiter »
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Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #1 on: 09/30/2012 06:01 pm »
Possibly, although not 'officially'.  IIRC, the Space Shuttle was always officially the STS - Space Transport System.  Everyone (and I mean everyone) called it 'The Shuttle' anyway.

I imagine that space amazing peoples and girls will find an alternate name for SLS, which will be commonly used enough to be considered the name of the vehicle to most people including just about the entire media corps.  However, that won't change the official NASA designation of the type.
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Offline Jim

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #2 on: 09/30/2012 06:02 pm »
As the title states, I'm wondering if SLS will ever be known by another name or given a more 'patriotic' name. True though STS program was never named,

Yes, it was.  It was called the National Space Transportation System.

Online Orbiter

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #3 on: 09/30/2012 06:07 pm »
As the title states, I'm wondering if SLS will ever be known by another name or given a more 'patriotic' name. True though STS program was never named,

Yes, it was.  It was called the National Space Transportation System.

You're right, let me rephrase it this way.

It was never named 'officially' named anything else beyond the National Space Transportation System, or STS, though it was always called the Space Shuttle, a term that every single person used.
« Last Edit: 09/30/2012 06:11 pm by Orbiter »
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Offline Jim

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #4 on: 09/30/2012 06:26 pm »
As the title states, I'm wondering if SLS will ever be known by another name or given a more 'patriotic' name. True though STS program was never named,

Yes, it was.  It was called the National Space Transportation System.

You're right, let me rephrase it this way.

It was never named 'officially' named anything else beyond the National Space Transportation System, or STS, though it was always called the Space Shuttle, a term that every single person used.

No, it also was officially the Space Shuttle and Space Shuttle Program

Offline kch

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #5 on: 09/30/2012 06:28 pm »

It was never named 'officially' named anything else beyond the National Space Transportation System, or STS, though it was always called the Space Shuttle, a term that every single person used.

Indeed -- and many married ones as well ... ;)

As to an alternate name for SLS, how about "Ralph"?


Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #6 on: 09/30/2012 06:49 pm »

It was never named 'officially' named anything else beyond the National Space Transportation System, or STS, though it was always called the Space Shuttle, a term that every single person used.

Indeed -- and many married ones as well ... ;)

As to an alternate name for SLS, how about "Ralph"?


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« Last Edit: 09/30/2012 06:53 pm by Rocket Science »
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Offline JohnF

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #7 on: 09/30/2012 07:46 pm »
Jupiter would be fine, next Saturn, as in V

Offline TomH

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #8 on: 09/30/2012 08:20 pm »
There already was a long thread on this subject with 487 posts to date:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25573.0

My choice: Phoenix, as it will rise from the ashes of Saturn, STS, and Ares all. The only other rocket with this name is a retired air launched missile. I think it best to wait until the thing is ready to fly before giving it that name, however, because if it were named then cancelled it would be ridiculed for having not lived up to its name, having not risen from the ashes of the other vehicles.
« Last Edit: 09/30/2012 08:27 pm by TomH »

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #9 on: 09/30/2012 08:28 pm »
There already was a long thread on this subject with 487 posts to date:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25573.0

My choice: Phoenix, as it will rise from the ashes of Saturn, STS, and Ares all. The only other rocket with this name is a retired air launched missile. I think it best to wait until the thing is ready to fly before giving it that name, however, because if it were named then cancelled it would be ridiculed for having not lived up to its name, having not risen from the ashes of the other vehicles.

I couldn't really find it with the search engine even though I knew it existed, but I wanted to ask if it is appropriate to name SLS and what name would you give it.
« Last Edit: 09/30/2012 08:29 pm by Orbiter »
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Offline IRobot

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #10 on: 09/30/2012 08:59 pm »
My acronym: BWOMEWUHF9AFH

Offline Quindar Beep

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #11 on: 09/30/2012 11:37 pm »
Well, von Braun's Jupiter-C led to the Saturn V, so obviously Uranus is next. There is no possible downside to this name  :P

(The US has a Titan and an Atlas, so continuing that theme...unfortunately the names of most of the remaining Titans have a strange sound or look to English speakers. Hyperion or Pallas seem to be the best choices so long as one doesn't mind the associations with moon and the asteroid respectively.)

Offline Lobo

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #12 on: 10/01/2012 03:51 am »
Well, I'd like to see it given an actual name.  But NASA seems to have stuck with SLS, while they gave CxP an actual rocket name in "Ares".

So my guess if they haven't coined a name by now, they probably won't. 

Although, after the next election, once we know what the administration will be for the next 4 years, and assuming no changes/cancellations to SLS, then I could see NASA opening up some write in campaign to give it an actual name, like they did with the Mars rovers.
Maybe they want to maybe sure things shake out and stay politically lined up behind SLS as the PoR for NASA, and it's designes and block upgrades are finalized before they give the rocket a name.  In a way, as long as it's "SLS", it could change from it's current concept to something else.  Something more like Direct, something more like AJAX, or something else, but it could still retain the tag of "SLS" because a "Space Launch System" can be any LV system.  Could even be multiple EELV launches.
But once you give the LV a name like "Ares", then if it's really changed, it's not "Ares", as "Ares" is cancelled, and replaced with something else.
"SLS" is a bit of a vague catch-all that is roughly just a HLV that is somewhat shuttle derived.  It allows for some possible future modification I think without having to loose the tag "SLS".
That way, even if the LV changes, "SLS" won't be cancelled too.

 

Offline kch

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #13 on: 10/01/2012 04:20 am »
Well, von Braun's Jupiter-C led to the Saturn V, so obviously Uranus is next. There is no possible downside to this name  :P


"My *what*?"  No, there's no downside, but there might be a backside ... ;)

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #14 on: 10/01/2012 04:37 am »
Lobo, NASA didn't call VSE 'Constellation' Program or the Ares until 2 years after it was announced.
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Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #15 on: 10/01/2012 05:40 am »
Ares would have been a good name for the booster - but that wont fly politically: anything from the 'Bush Era' wont get a look in. Jupiter probably wont be used because of the 'Blood in the water'. But maybe the Greek equivalent, 'Zeus'?

I could go for 'Nova', 'Neptune', 'Odin', 'Vulcan' or 'Hercules'. But until it really looks like its actually going to fly, NASA probably wont jinx it.
« Last Edit: 10/01/2012 06:37 am by MATTBLAK »
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Offline QuantumG

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #16 on: 10/01/2012 05:51 am »
'Pancetta', 'Collops', 'Trotter', 'Gammon'.. so many great names to choose from.
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Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #17 on: 10/01/2012 06:18 am »
'Pancetta', 'Collops', 'Trotter', 'Gammon'.. so many great names to choose from.


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Offline Gemini XIII

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #18 on: 10/01/2012 06:31 am »
What about "Mars" rocket? ;)

Other good (in my opinion) names are: "Cyclops", "Colossus", "Kraken"...

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Re: Will 'SLS' ever be known by a different name?
« Reply #19 on: 10/01/2012 12:26 pm »
I've always liked 'Hercules' as the name of a heavy-lifter for the obvious reasons: All brawn, little or no subtlety but not really needing it to get the job done.

Yeah, Herc is a nasty bit of work, according to the myths but so were all the Grecio-Roman heroes, gods, titans and so on.

'Prometheus' is reserved for the first NEP/NTP spacecraft, IMHO at least.
« Last Edit: 10/01/2012 12:26 pm by Ben the Space Brit »
"Oops! I left the silly thing in reverse!" - Duck Dodgers

~*~*~*~

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The time for words has passed; The time has come to put up or shut up!
DON'T PROPAGANDISE, FLY!!!

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