Jump to content

Can you help me name a new family of rockets?


Chequers

Recommended Posts

I'm deep into the planning of a first Kerballed mission to land on another planet — which will be Duna. The contract calls for the addition of a docking manoeuvre in orbit of the red planet, which adds another layer of complexity. 

Having reviewed the ageing Chequers Aerospace fleet, it's increasingly apparent that the faithful workhorse rockets in the current 'Exodus' family, that launched a raft of interplanetary probes and flybys, simply isn't up to the mission.

Chequers Associated Systems (CAS), along with the substantial cash injection from the World-Firsts-Record-Keeping-Society, have enabled the commission of a new family of rockets, that not only enable us to make use of the latest advancements in technology, but will be able to satisfy the needs of Chequers Aerospace now, and into the future.

These new rockets will expand our capability, to put Kerbal boots on Duna and Ike, conduct scientific missions to far-flung moons, and enable us to develop the infrastructure for even more ambitious missions.

But this new family of rocket needs a name. Nigel from the marketing department came up with the clever (and responsibility-shirking) idea to put it out to the KSP community.

Can you help?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I generally name my rockets with generic names. I have names like "Science Orbital Station I" or "Mark I - Mark XI".  Many times I just name it something that sounds technical and such.  Sometimes I use something that sounds good as an acronym. Those are just some ideas for inspiration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a great source of naming lists here: https://namingschemes.com/Main_Page

Since you're going to Duna, which is the Mars analog, I would try variations on Martian ideas.

Burroughs, Barsoom, Ares, Bradbury, Aelita, Vulthoom, Heinlein, Valentine, Vonnegut, Mariner, Viking, Weir, Watney, Wells...

Edited by HvP
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a variation on Rainbow Codes to name my launch rockets- a colour then a random noun, with the colour depending on the size of the first stage. Examples include Red Apple, Green Book and Blue River. Sometimes I add numerical designations to denote the size of the stages and any extra boosters, etc. as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I'm definitely stealing some of those ideas. :D

For career or science, I'll name my first rocket "One One" and then change the second number. When I get Liquid-fueled rockets, I'll change it to "Two number". It works. Especially when you always have a new rocket design every time you get new parts. For stations, they'll be "Station One", "Station Two" and once I establish stations around the moon, "Mun Station One" and so on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, steuben said:

4. Steve

My first Duna lander was called Dave- Duna Ascent VEssel. It's one of those "come up with half a name, think of an acronym that would fit the name, find a way to shoehorn the name into the acronym" situations, like my second Duna lander called DDOS (Duna Descent/Orbit Ship).

Most of my ships etc. are just called 'Mun Station One' or suchlike, or if they get iterated on they might get a Mk-X designation e.g. 'Station transfer pod Mk5'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Chequers why don't you start the "Neptune" rocket family. i have the Neptune rocket family as the size 3 rockets that boost heavy payloads. i think you should really consider this name. 

Sincerely, DAFATRONALDO2007 IN SPACE :cool:

for example: The Neptune I, Neptune II, Neptune III, Neptune IV, Neptune V, and so on.

Edited by DAFATRONALDO2007 IN SPACE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/27/2020 at 4:13 AM, Chequers said:

I'm deep into the planning of a first Kerballed mission to land on another planet — which will be Duna. The contract calls for the addition of a docking manoeuvre in orbit of the red planet, which adds another layer of complexity. 

Having reviewed the ageing Chequers Aerospace fleet, it's increasingly apparent that the faithful workhorse rockets in the current 'Exodus' family, that launched a raft of interplanetary probes and flybys, simply isn't up to the mission.

Chequers Associated Systems (CAS), along with the substantial cash injection from the World-Firsts-Record-Keeping-Society, have enabled the commission of a new family of rockets, that not only enable us to make use of the latest advancements in technology, but will be able to satisfy the needs of Chequers Aerospace now, and into the future.

These new rockets will expand our capability, to put Kerbal boots on Duna and Ike, conduct scientific missions to far-flung moons, and enable us to develop the infrastructure for even more ambitious missions.

But this new family of rocket needs a name. Nigel from the marketing department came up with the clever (and responsibility-shirking) idea to put it out to the KSP community.

Can you help?

Flaming Phoenix, Phoenix, Eagle, Screaming Eagle, Flaming Eagle, Screaming Phoenix. My favorite of this list (applies to the red of duna) Red Phoenix.

On 10/28/2020 at 12:43 PM, steuben said:

DoB

Department of Buildings?? In NYC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would just choose a cool name that works well as a vessel name. I normally use this website.
For my own ships, I make a "family" of vessels with that name using Roman numerals.Each family fulfills a different basic purpose.
Manned spacecraft destined for missions to other moons or planets are simply named after the celestial body itself, while other spacecraft get a unique name.

As an example, I am currently playing through career mode in the stock system, and my vessel names are as follows (the list is somewhat large):

Spoiler

"Alto" Family - Early-game manned rockets:

Alto I (Tiny science collector)
Alto II (First exoatmospheric craft)

"Nexus" Family - Basic manned LKO spacecraft (including rescue- and science-oriented crafts):

Nexus I (Really basic orbital rocket with science)
Nexus I+ (Slightly upgraded version of the Nexus I, didn't warrant a new number)
Nexus II (Two-seater orbital rocket)

"Mun" Family - Manned Mun orbiters and landers:

Mun I (Mun orbiter)
Mun II (Basic two-seater Mun lander)
Mun III (Apollo-style Mun lander)
Mun IV (Minimalist Mun lander)

"Minmus" Family - Manned Minmus orbiters and landers:

Minmus I (Two-seater Minmus orbiter)
Minmus II (Two-seater Minmus lander)
Minmus III (Advanced Minmus lander)

"Luno" Family - Unmanned Mun satellites and lander probes:

Luno I (Mun relay)
Luno II (Resource scanning satellite for polar orbits)
Luno III (Mun probe lander)

"Opal" Family - Unmanned Minmus satellites and lander probes:

Opal I (Minmus relay)
Opal II (Minmus probe lander)

"Duna" Family - Manned Duna/Ike orbiters and landers:

Duna I (Science mission)
Duna II (Duna lander)

Space Stations have their own unique names:

LKO Station: Aurora (Refuelling station)
Mun Station: Vespir (A sort of "gateway" for spacecraft going to and from the Mun)

Those are all the spacecraft I currently have.

Hopefully, that gives you an idea of how I would name ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to work on the "ships are always she, so they should have girl's names" basis.  So, all my Mun vessels are Monica I, II etc., then Minmus vessels were Mindy, and then Donna, Evelyn, Juliet etc.

If I have a one-off ship that is going to be around for a long time, it often gets a specific name, and they tend to be from Norse mythology as often as not.  So, my primary comms relay in HKO is Hermóðr, my two relays around Mun are Hjúki and Bil, my orbital ferry/tug is Sleipnir and so forth.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually come up with a technical name, like MLV-1 (manned launch vehicle 1) then give it a name that I think fits it after, like "Focus" if it's going to be something that is the focus of a series of missions or plans.  MLV-1 "Focus"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Based on the name "Chequers", I immediately thought of a checkerboard and subsequently, chess. I propose naming your new launchers after chess pieces, such as "Pawn", "King", or "Bishop".

Another idea could be my current career's naming scheme of army ranks for each series of rockets (aka each major tech relating to launch hardware), with the first generation being the "Corporal" series (early solids), and my current series being the "Captain" series (Mainsail, Thoroughbred, and Twin Boar).

Edited by Beriev
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...