Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Help NASA Name ISS Node 3


Voting will be open until March 20th, 2009. NASA will announce the winning name in April 2009.

NASA wants your opinion in naming the International Space Station’s Node 3 – a connecting module and its cupola – before the two segments travel to space and are installed on the orbiting laboratory. The name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station, and follow in the tradition set by Node 1- Unity- and Node 2- Harmony.

Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the Node 3 components during the STS-130 mission targeted for December 2009 (but most likely early 2010 with the current delay impacts). Once the cupola is attached to one of the module’s six ports, it will offer astronauts a spectacular view of both their home planet and their home in space.

Visit NASA's website (http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/name_ISS/index.html) to read more about the cupola and to help you decide on a name to submit for the node.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about Discovery? Either that or Endevour. I was reading Stephen Baxter's Voyage yesterday and I thought it was really neat that he named the modules of the (alternate history) Ares mission after the real world Shuttles, so why not do something similar with the last American components of the ISS? Too bad that Atlantis isn't so explicit with the "spirit of exploration" thing.

Anonymous said...

Everyone, you can also vote once each day!

For a name, how about something realistic and practical such as soldering experiments, smoke experiments, fluid experiments, etc ! The ISS is one of our first large space vehicles so why not name it something appropriate such as "101: Basic Laws About Space Life". Now, all I need is to come up with an acronym. We are on a new frontier, and we should say that to the future people of this planet. I feel that a name like these would be a good because people will look back from the distant future and say that was the level we were at in 2010. They would not look back and say they had their heads in the clouds. If we named Node 3 Enterprise people could lose their goal-mindedness and their iconic idealism. Who would want to build another Enterprise in the future like the old one from the tv show. Sure Enterprise I, II, II, etc sounds nice, but is it the best choice. It's too close to a television show plot and not the real world. The name should be something people look back on us and say they really started the hole space thing. Well, my vote goes for "Earth Rise" because it's the most realistic and has a chance of winning.

Unknown said...

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I've an account on Facebook & Orkut 2,by my name.PLZ PLZ PLZ. Plz dont refuse,i wont pester u at all.I'm just desperate,been looking 2 ask ANY1.Bye. Waiting.

Anonymous said...

Some of those windows will probably have restrictions on them. Mike Fincke on Feb 20th did a tour of the ISS for the STS 119 crew. He showed a few views out the windows and said that one window on the ISS can only be opened for two hours a day, and some windows can not be opened at all by anyone.