Mission Name Ideas

[Tristen Simon]

Ok, so I just finished a mission program for a Mun landing, the "Kerpollo" Program. I've already decided on Kerbin and Jool mission names. So, I need some mission names for everything except Kerbin, the Mun, and Jool. It can be based off of a real mission program name, just make sure it's "Kerbalized." Or, create your own name!

[Zhetaan]

@Tristen Simon:

I suppose that this is technically a gameplay question, though don't be surprised should you you find this moved to KSP Discussion.

Anyway, I typically go in for tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek puns, metaphors, and allusions in my mission/vessel names.  My first space station, which is normally early enough that it is actually functionally useless--but nevertheless often provides good contract opportunities--is almost always called Bridge to Anywhere in reference both to the bridge in Alaska and the quote about getting to orbit being halfway to anywhere.

I usually call my first Minmus lander the Ice Cream Sampler; later ones are Frozen Disappointment.  Flybys are, after the Munshot series of rockets before them, called Minshot.

Early Eve missions, of which the crewed type never involve a landing (I use life support mods and don't have effective means to supply an Eve base at the beginning) are Look But Don't Touch.  I have a set of probe landers for Eve's surface that incorporate tiny rovers in a service bay that have all of the repeatable experiments (the Goo and such stay on the lander); these are named Way-Discoverer, Trail-Locator, and similar titles, with the rovers called things such as Honest Wanderer and Verified Traveller.  They are arguably more appropriate to Duna, but, well, it's my game.  Also, the rover that crashed on Duna is called the Dead Cat.  The one that landed correctly with the repair parts to rescue it is called the Satisfaction.

Moho is normally called some variation of Dedicated Masochism.  Assemblies in orbit, if large enough, are also contenders for this distinction.

I also play with Outer Planets Mod, so sending crewed missions all the way out to Plock necessitates some creative design--or a cryogenic freezer.  The vessel class that carries one is called an iceliner, and the mission called the Corpsicle Express (with missions to nearer bodies as some variation of Zombie Queen), which are references to a short story by Larry Niven and also to a mission report by @Geschosskopf called the Outer Planets Traveling Circus; it's old but it's whimsical, and that suits me.

I will typically send comm arrays in groups for either better coverage or to send to different bodies in the same local system (for example, one orbits Duna and another orbits Ike).  Sometimes, I will use flotillas, but comsats are small enough that I just as often send them on a single transfer rocket with decouplers.  The one that goes to Jool and its moons is called Actually Six Smaller Ships in a Trenchcoat.

Rescue and repair missions are Put Back Together with Parts Left Over, and my large-capacity training/experience vessel for new Kerbals is called the Magic School Bus.  Asteroid capture vessels are called Rocket with Real Rocks in It.

I hope that helps, and if not, I hope it was good for a chuckle or two.  Have fun!

[jimmymcgoochie]

I made some Eve lander probes called Evenera (Eve + Venera, the Soviet Venus landers) and there a few other real mission names that could be co-opted into KSP: P-ion-eer for an ion-powered deep space probe, some variation on Cassini-Huygens (Kassini-Whogens, maybe?) to be lobbed at Laythe (or more appropriately at OPM Sarnus’ moon Tekto), and a failed Mars lander called Bungle 2 (named after Beagle 2 which actually landed but didn’t deploy properly), for example.

[king of nowhere]

I generally call stuff "mun lander", "laythe plane", "orbiter", or some other unimaginative things.

sometimes random bouts of creativity strike me, and i give real names. they are generally caused by random though associations, they often are references to something and they generally refer to some actual traits of the ship. for example, a ship with a nuclear engine made to explore multiple planets was called Marco Polonium, joining the great explorer marco polo with nuclear power. or another whom i flooded with lights, i dubbed it flying christmas tree. but sometimes i am more serious, my latest mothership, built using the kerbalism mod in an attempt to have life support run for decades, I decided to call it Home, because that's what's supposed to be

[theleg]

Use this mod - Champagne Bottle Redux

Edited December 23, 2020 by theleg

[STEAMED_PIGLIN]

Mun Mission: KEPUTNIK!

a solar space station that orbits way too close: HELL

sarnus mission (if you have outer planets mod): KRASH! (space probe)-KRASHER (tekto lander)-KRAP (Atmospheric thing to krash into sarnus)

moho lander: into_le_unknown_to_the_kerbals!

bop mission: KRACK'N!