Spacecraft names

[Jay_Em]

My series of rockets all follow a naming pattern beginning with J, followed by the rocket number and a name. For example, my Mun rocket is called the J-11 Armstrong, because it was my eleventh distinct rocket. My new interplanetary rocket is the J-12 Horizon.

[Lesarthois]

I use early French rocket design names for my rockets.

My test design rockets are named Veronique 1, 2, 3, etc...

Once I have working designs, they change names to "precious gems" program, with names like Topaze, Diamand (diamond) Agathe, Rubis, etc... And now that there is planets, names would serves to different objectives.

I haven't decided yet, but that would make something like Agathe and Diamand rockets are interplanetary 3 crew rockets, and Rubis and Topaze would be 1 crew rockets.

[AlternNocturn]

For test designs, I name them something random when I don't have faith in them. When I do, they usually get a cool name. Usually I like to name them after Greek weapons, like Aegis (mythical shield of Athena) and Labrys (double-headed axe). Those are the only two names I've been able to find though.

Edited September 30, 2012 by AlternNocturn

[Accelerando]

Just call it Rambottom.

[draeath]

After many failures in getting a particularly mad creation into orbit, I tend to name them things like the "Mk1 Kerbal Exploder", "Burning Wreck 4" and "Smoldering Debris XXI"

Lol, then you'd have "Smoldering Debris XXI Debris" in orbit. Just leave it at Smoldering - once the inevitable happens you'll see "Smoldering Debris"

[Moach]

ok - this is the same list i've posted on the Orbiter Forums upon a very similar thread...

Journey

Explorer

Envoy

Sovereign

Ventura

Magellan

Evernaut

Conquest

Spirit of ... (insert thing you'd be proud of here)

Farsight

Firestar

Emissary

Quest

Dauntless

Forefront

Endurance

Paramount

Valiant

Horizon

Frontier

Constitution

Ambassador

Excelsior

Steadfast

Colony

Triumph

Athlon

Accolade

Principle

Merit

Infinity

Virtue

Imperium

Primacy

Edge

Acclaim

Eclat

Providence

Reason

Reliant

Advocate

Champion

Premiss

Beacon

Courage

Overseer

Mentor

Lodestar

Beckoner

Marshall

Herald

Harbinger

Conveyor

Pursuivant

Squire

Intrepid

Gallant

Tenacity

Purpose

Resolve

Prowess

Fortitude

Audacity

Visionaire

Bravura

Dexter

Mastery

Promptitude

Celerity

Voyage

Wayfarer

Foray

Campaign

Pilgrim

Apex

Surmount

Prodigy

Intent

Vehement

Prevail

Globetrotter

Emigrant

Starwalker

Mirage

Liberty

Effort

Armstrong

Egress

Threshold

Pursuit

Pinnacle

i also find this thread could be stickied, as it is so relevant and offers such meaningful inspiration for everyone - so there, it's stickied....

* now spoiler'ed as requested

Edited September 30, 2012 by Moach

[sal_vager]

Hey Moach, any chance of using spoilers rather than messing up General Discussion?

Desert Star

PanPipe

Soar Point

Shamrock

Pepperpot

Munbeam

Mune Buggy

Atacama

Little Sipper

Basson

[0jam3290]

Odessy, Intrepid, Eve Express, How the F*** is this Going to Work,

[BlazingAngel665]

I use mythological names applicable to their destination or purpose. A number afterwards indicates the mission number or progression Artemis I-XI is a light lander after that they got MUCH bigger.

Kermes (mercury type craft capable of LKO)

Artemis I-XXI ( Lunar lander )

Centaur (minmus )

Tranquility (a lander with rovers, crewtanks ready for a duration stay)

Ares (Duna is a mars equivelent)

Dianna (not exactly equivelent to Eve or Venus but a lot shorter than Aphrodite)

Icarus (Moho lander, failed repetedly)

Hera (Jool mapsat)

Thor (Jool Moon lander)

Trident (submarine mod lander for Laythe)

Spirit (horendously overpowered maping satellite)

Arrow (VTOL interplanatery exploration craft)

Godspeed (a large interstellar craft with a distance of over 3TM from Kebol right now)

Armstrong Station ( tribute landed at the coordinates of his landing site on the Mun)

Discovery (a munolith exploration craft with rover, powered glider, lander and mapsat)

Aerosprite (small SSTO)

Eve (long distance intra atmosphere craft)

Odessey ( the Kraken slayer delivered excess of 30 railguns and fifty missiles to Kebol all laced with potent Krakensbane, please note due to my sub par system, the Kraken was sub optimally slain)

Kirk ( CFG edited ship with unlimited fuel and a hyper overpowered engine that has almost zero mass)

Hope it helped Cheers

[jayther]

Here are some names that I used that actually sound nice:

MunStalker (orbit Mun)

MunWalker (land on Mun)

Kerby (plane)

Space Penguin (space shuttle)

[colonel0sanders]

Recently I've been using names from British ships that first sailed to the pacific. Resolution, Bounty, Pandora, Providence, etc.

[szpw]

I usually use random names for my test rockets, but for tested, working designs that have reached their final version I use something like Legacy, New Frontiers (my personal favourite) or some other dramatic names. After that I normally save variations of the rocket as New Frontiers I, II, II etc.

[Kizarvexis]

I don't name each flight, but I name classes. I went for the classics. (Side mounted boosters don't count as a separate stage)

Mercury - 1m with one decoupler under the capsule.

Gemini - 1m with two decouplers for a boost phase and an orbit phase

Saturn (demo) - 1m with a lander stage at the very top. Now with the 3m parts, I'll need a new name.

Titan - 3m with a decouple under the capsule

Atlas (projected) - 3m with a boost and orbit stage

Saturn (projected) - 3m with a lander at the top

If I make small changes to keep a design flying (usually because I forgot something), I usually don't change the name. But when I make bigger changes, like changing the booster type (or more usually added moar boosters), then I change the number (e.g. Mercury I, Mercury II, etc).

[LaydeeDem]

Darius

Xerxes

Augustus

Hellen

Jupiter

Juno

Hera

Hermes

And some acronyms:

JoMOS - Jool Moon Orbital Surveyor

MoHOr -Moho High Orbiter

DADL - Duna Atmospheric Descent Lander (Pronouced "Dadel")

[PIRATEONTHERUN]

Balrog

Lord of the Rings reference. I love it!

[SunJumper]

Loki

Krakenous

The Kraken

Solar Polar

Sundiver series

NERVA7

Solid Up

Solid Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

...etc

[MaverickSawyer]

My first lander design was the Derp Lander... due to the expected failure it would be.

My treibflugel was Jeb's Blender... due to spinning blades and the use of a booster as the escape system.

Otherwise, I typically name them after their intended mission/target. Arabic numerals indicate crew capacity, Roman numerals indicate the mission number(ex: Orbiter 3 II)

[Trebuchet-Launch]

I have a bunch of BooStars, ThruStars, etc, with I/II/III afterwards for successive revisions and such. The really big lag-inducing rockets carry acronym monikers: the OWL (OverWhelmingly Large) and MoaR (Mother of all Rockets) monikers.

[khyron42]

Mine tend to divide into "acronyms", "silly", and "sci-fi reference" categories.

Acronyms:

OSIRIS - designed for trips to and back from solar orbit back in 0.16. I can't even remember what the acronym stood for

LoRAX - Low Reconaissance Aircraft (eXperimental)

Silly:

Waltzing Elephant - wide short launcher using nothing but 2m tanks and 1m engines.

Improbable

Rarer Sci-fi, skipping the ones almost everyone knows from star trek and star wars and movies:

Long Shot - faster-than-light craft attempt (One of Larry Niven's short stories - I also use some other Niven ones, he had a lot of ship designs)

Various ships named after sci-fi/fantasy races or locations from books (the Consu, the Caladan, the Outer Rim, the Jhereg... you get the idea.)

[halocon720]

Skyforger, Ilmarinen (smith in Finnish myths, forged the sky), Vainamoinen (Finnish hero), Kullervo, Ilmatar, Plataea, Prometheus, Supercruiser.

And no, I am not from Finland.

[nhnifong]

Some of the names in my craft folder right now

Kotanakataka

Yappari L+%^&

Naked Weapon

Hurricane Bottlecap

dunjukka ecaate supreme

compacto

The Bill Kerman Propellant Apparatus And Method Of Piloting Thereof

Leather Letter Weather

The Choppa

I'm not very good at naming things

[SteevyT]

Here are mine pulled directly from the folders.

[Aescwulf]

I've only got two

Orbitus - goes to orbit and back

Munitus - goes to Mun

I use 'us or 'itus to make it sound epic I suppose

[Vindicator]

I tend to use imagery or names that somewhat resemble their function. so my remote command with lots of dishes for controlling unmanned probes is called "KSAT 03 - big brother" then a lander got called "highlander" a moon rover got called "charriot" and well you get the point

[OldReliable]

Manus Celer Dei