What is your naming system for Planes/Rockets?

[technicalfool]

For career mode and actually trying to do something in the game, usually pretty functional and boring. "Duna Mission" or "LKO teenysat".

Mucking about in sandbox or on multiplayer servers, names tend to be more whimsical. "Spess Plen", "Rapid Scheduled Disassembly" or "Rube Goldberg Would Be Proud".

Guess it depends on what mood I'm in.

[Just Jim]

Once I got a bunch of stations and colonies I started using the locations, like Minmus Station or Duna Colony, to keep them straight. But ships, I'm a traditionalist, and always use female names. Sometimes Kerban female names, like the Langertrix or Samuki.

[Kerb Johnson]

Mark 1, Version 1 (Suborbital)

Mark 1, Version 2 (Suborbital)

Mark 2, Version 1 (Orbital - 1 Crew)

Mark 3, Version 1 (Tourists - 3 Seats)

Etc.

Space stations and bases get renamed once on station. Satellites get a special name if they have communication on board so I don't deorbit them accidentally when doing cleanup.

[adsii1970]

When I first began making aircraft in 0.24, I tried to come up with witty "K" names, such as the "Knat", "kyep", &tc. That has now given way to a much simpler system of naming aircraft. Any aircraft or spacecraft created in the SPH follows this new system I use, which is to use descriptors, much like a basic military scheme so that:

A = aircraft basic designation

H = high speed (in excess of Mach 2)

T = transport, cargo

P = transport, passenger

M = mixed transport

X = trainer aircraft

S = Single stage to orbit

I use a simple Mk system to go even further in naming. An aircraft named A-1 Mk 1 is basically the tester aircraft of the series. If I like the way it performs in flight, then there may be a Mk 1a (BDArmory is used to arm the aircraft), and a MK 1b (featuring S.C.A.N. to use as a survey craft).

Rockets and spacecraft designed through the VAB were named for specific missions until I began to realize that even satellites that I had been designing could do dual roles. So I began using a system that uses letters to define what the specific craft does and crew capacity, such as:

K = single Kerbal crew

K(#) = Multiple Kerbal crew where # represents the number of crew

U = unKerbaled vehicle

LO = low orbit (between 72k and 175k)

MO = medium orbit (between 175k and 300k)

HO = high orbit

M1 = Mün Vehicle

M2 = Minimus Vehicle

G = Glide-able reentry vehicle (think space shuttle)

C = Chutes

S = Survey vehicle (includes any craft with S.C.A.N. capabilities)

P = Orbital platform

F = Refueling orbiting platform

V = Kerbin system vehicle

X = Outside Kerbin system vehicle

T = Kerbal Transport vehicle

Q = Supply transport vehicle

A = Asteroid/Anomaly vehicle

Z = Science experiments

A simple vehicle designed to achieve medium Kerbin orbit, capable of carrying two Kerbals, with a science package and chutes would be listed as K2MOZC.

Not at all difficult and it works for me.

[keeper]

I did my Minmus lander up to v2, then started making the "duna lander" we're up to V3.1 and we havnt even got to duna lmao

I have a habit of saving after attaching launch subasembily so theres duna lander v3.1 TL1 TL2 etc meaning test launch wutgh different lauchers

[TheMoonRover]

For rockets built for specific missions, I give them a rather simplistic name which describes the mission, eg. "Eve Lander","Minmus Rover","The Jool Grand-Tourer"

For rockets I reuse and rework, I give them a generic name and a number which is incremented for every major alteration, eg. "Space Probe IX", "Science Lander Mk3"

I name planes after various things which suit them in some way, eg. "The Moth" is really small, "The Dragonfly" is shaped like a dragonfly, "The Flying Pig" is ugly and not very aerodynamic, "

"

For when I'm just messing around, I try to make some sort of pun, eg. "Solid Rocket" is a complete mess of SRBs which usually spontaneously disassembles itself within 15 seconds of loading in, "The Spacehopper" has several stages facing alternately up and down - it bounces to space.

[goldenpeach]

For rockets, I don't have any. I do have *one* rocket with a proper name(i.e: that doesn't tell exactly what it does), named after a song for children.

For planes, I have a rule: alway name them after a bird specie. I something add something in the name when in is needed.

(in exemple, one of my plane is named "tri-condor", because it have three wing, it is big and it fly high.)

[Superfluous J]

Every time this thread comes up on the page I misread the title as "What is your naming system for planets/rocks?" and for a half second I get extremely confused.

[waterlubber]

I just name everything after dragons, because I'm incredibly uncreative

[DalisClock]

I usually go with some kind of theme, assuming I'm not just giving my craft really matter of facts like "Test Rocket" and "Kerbal 1".

My Duna craft all use something related to mars/gods of war. So my landers were named "Ares" and "Athena" respectively.

Sometimes I'll just use an amusing name like my ScanSat sats known as "Not A Spy" or "Eye in the Sky" or "Big Brother".

[Warzouz]

I do very simple naming

Space stations: Duna Station Two

Lander (from the station) : Duna Light/heavy Lander (1, 2 if multiple)

Refuel system : Duna Miner

Return ships : Moho Return

General Ship missions : Duna Mission Three (usually have multiple ships inside)

For planes, as missions are usually very quick, it's just it's function : Passenger SSTO or Science One.

[SourMonkey]

My naming system changes radically not only between saves and versions of the game but also between mission. Just looking at my current list shows how random they can be between a naming system, a large acronym, or a simple name like "Joolian I". However, when I do have a consistent naming system it goes something like this:

(Goddess) (Sometimes a specifier or unique name) (I, II, III...etc)

So Artemis I, Artemis Ion II, Ishtar I, Aphrodite's Vantage (a station) are some examples.

Stations are typically beauty/love/lust, the best probes are often hunting/adventure, etc.

[Starhawk]

My early career always looks like this:

Up Goer 1

Up Goer 2

Up Goer 3

Up Goer 4

...

Happy landings!

[vixr]

Completely silly stuff...Jeb's folly, Shoo Fly, Fubb Duck, Val's Gal...

[FungusForge]

I always try to give them some meaningful names, like Eos and Astraeus are my soon-to-be geo-stationary fuel depots. They'll be on opposite sides of their orbits.

[Musicrafter]

I've been trying to get a grand tour ship together, and with every (failed) attempt and redesign, I add one to the roman numeral on the end. My ship series is called the "Magnus". The Magnus I never got off the ground, the Magnus II made it halfway to orbit and got no further, the Magnus III got to orbit but then the transfer stage was too small, the Magnus IV was a 1.0 fix for the nuclear engines, the Magnus V was a successful launch but it disintegrated while aerobraking at Eve due to crappy design, and currently I'm trying to eke out enough power from the Magnus VI launch stage to get it to orbit. Also, each progressive rocket gets more expensive... the Magnus I was about $300k, but the Magnus VI is currently $1.7mil. For my universal 4,900+ dV SSTO rocket, I've just called it "Universal SSTO", and for my asparagused Eve lander I've just called it "Eve Lander". I don't come up with names very well. I'm not sure why I didn't call the Magnus IV the "Magnus IIIa", I probably should have (the ascent stage was unchanged).

[Spacetraindriver]

I usually make replica craft, past, present, or future, to avoid this. But every once and a while I make my own craft. I take properties of the craft and mix them to create words.

This is Mktwotle. Guess which words were mixed up in that.

[xendelaar]

My craft names are pretty boring. First word is the location it's meant going to.. followed by its mission and version number

Some examples

Jool-5 v1

Minmus miner v1

Mun Science rover v2

[Steelsunoa]

I primarily use a code, especially with satellites. I started using it toward the beginning, after having 6 or so flight plans and losing track of my maneuvers and finding the correct craft in the tracking station. I like to have a lot going on and keep launching missions opposed to time warping weeks ahead. Some of my more in-depth designs get a name, my space station to Eve is named "Daedalus", and the crafts that are designed to dock with it are named "Icarus" (III, IV, etc). This is obviously due to the fact that they fly closer to the Sun (Kerbol).

My code is simple, at least to me. It goes something like this...

<satellite? if no=blank, if yes="S"> <1st letter of destination planet> <in need of maneuver? if no=blank, if yes="x"> - <design version> <type, if any> <moon orbiting primary SOI, if any=a,b,c,d>

To clarify a little, I started using this prior to going to Moho. So I use MH for that and M for the Mun and Minmus crafts, but K for all satellites over the Mun/Minmus & Kerbin. Design version is basically just when it was made, this does not include upgrades as parts unlock but more like a re-design of the concept. Type is a craft made for a specific mission, a rescue mission would be "r" and a tourist craft would be "t", or whatever reminds me of it's purpose/mission. Below are some examples...

M-1 - Mun/Minmus craft that does not require immediate attention (in orbit waiting to land for example); first design to return safely

Mx-1 - Mun/Minmus craft that requires a maneuver or will need attention

SK-1 - Satellite orbiting Kerbin, that requires no maneuvers; first generation satellite

SKx-3a - Satellite orbiting Kerbin, specifically the Mun, requires a maneuver to fulfill contract parameters; third generation design (ion engines)

SJx-1d - Satellite orbiting Jool, specifically Bop, requires a maneuver to fulfill contract parameters

Jx-2a - Laythe craft that requires a maneuver; second generation design

Dx-1ra - Duna craft that requires a maneuver, rescue mission to Ike

Edited September 7, 2015 by Steelsunoa
formatting

[Wiarus]

For planes:

<Designation*> <Name>

*Shorcuts with order, example: SI-4B - Suborbital Interceptor [sI], fourth of the series [4] with small change from original 4 [that's because B]

For rockets [ballistic] - nordic mythology

For spaceships, space stations, etc. - Slavic, Greek and Roman mythology with serial number.

[LordCorwin]

Mission type + Version number: Eg: Laythe5, Solar_Probe29, etc

[gladiator007er]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... for now. Shows evolution of the builds...

Too early in career modes to start naming ships.

[Joshwoo70]

flea-1

flea-2

etc...

some of my more adv crafts use like this :

example: advanced amphibioustravel rover. acronym: AATR-1

[Samniss Arandeen]

The first of a craft type gets a name beginning with a "F" or "Ph" sound. Fletcher, Phendrana, Firecatcher, the like.

The following ships of the type gain similar names. "Sparks", "Bushwhacker", and "Thunder" are all Fletcher-class craft, for instance.