How the Space Shuttles Were Given Better Names Thanks to Star Trek

upstart writes:

The first Space Shuttle was originally going to be named Constitution. US President Gerald Ford agreed to rename it Enterprise - here's how Star Trek fans persuaded him:

It's 17 September 1976. The world's press has gathered in Palmdale, California, for the revealing of Nasa's first Space Shuttle vehicle: The Enterprise. But it wasn't always supposed to have that name.

It was a huge day for Nasa and for the US administration, as they began a new adventure in space travel. After the Moon landings, the Space Shuttle would be Nasa's project to make spaceflight routine, affordable and accessible for the future.

In the audience were presidential aides, Nasa officials, astronauts and some very special guests. Many of the cast and crew members of TV science fiction series Star Trek also came along to watch the vehicle be unveiled.

It was also quite the day for the show's fans. The US president and Nasa agreed to dedicate and name the first Space Shuttle after the flagship of Star Trek's fleet, the Star Ship Enterprise.

"Nasa has received hundreds of thousands of letters from the space-orientated Star Trek group, asking that the name be given to the craft," said government aide William Gorog, in a now declassified memo to the then President, Gerald Ford.

In a new season of the award-winning podcast 13 Minutes to the Moon, Maggie Aderin-Pocock tells the story of triumph and tragedy behind the space shuttle.Listen to the new series of 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle here. If you are in the UK, you can listen to it on BBC Sounds here.

Fans bombarded Nasa and the White House with letters about why the ship should be renamed. And it was not the first time Star Trek fans had run a campaign like this, either.

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