I think we should stick to Plymouth/Chrysler names… We have Challenger… maybe we could go with Charger, Voyager, I love Valiant, maybe Coronet, Avenger, Reliant…
The Hemi-Cuda! huh? eh?
What?
Avenger?
too aggressive?
If for some reason NASA is ailing financially at the time of the next shuttle christening, they might find sponsor support:
[ul]
[li]The Charmin Voyager[/li][li]The Enron Debacle[/li][li]Ben & Jerry’s Shuttle Puddle[/li][li]The Bed, Bath and Beyond[/li][li]Carl’s Jr.'s If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in space[/li]The AOL/TimeWarner/Disney/Entenman’s Magical Space Adventure[/ul]
4…
3…
2…
1…
Elvis has left the launch pad…
If the did that, they could have another Columbia.
[ul]
[li]Clermont - One of the first practical steam-powered ships.[/li][li]Half Moon - Henry Hudson discovered the Hudson river while aboard her. Her originial name was Halve Maen.[/li][li]Argus - The first aircraft carrier to be built with the flight deck running uninterrupted from bow to stern.[/li][li]Argo - Ancient Greek ship of Jason and the Argonauts fame.[/li][li]Mayflower - One of the ships which helped found the US. Unfortunately, the name may not be “politicially appropriate” for various reasons, which is rather a shame.[/li][li]Nautilus - The submarine USS Nautilus was the world’s first nuclear-powered ship. Also the name of Captain Nemo’s submarine.[/li][li]Victoria - One of Ferdinand Magellan’s ships. Became the first vessel to circumnavigate the Earth.[/li][/ul]
Snerk!
How about “Orbiter”?
“From the orbiter Orbiter, this is Captain Over, over.” 
I would advise against Shenandoah, given the fate of the Navy airship of that name: “Shenandoah’s crash was the nation’s most dramatic aviation disaster yet. Fourteen trained crewmen had been killed and a valuable Navy asset had been lost.”
I like all of these, especially Wright. It doesn’t exactly send a thrill through you by itself, but having construction begin in 2003 would be very symbolic with the centennial coming up.
Yeager
Grissholm
Lewis and Clark
Lindbergh, alternately, The Spirit of Saint Louis
Flyer
Gagarin
Save Mayflower for the first colony ship.
In the spirit of Yeager, Glamorous Glennis.
Or should we save that for the first FTL ship?
lotsa good suggestions out there but personally my vote would be for:
Discovery
wolf189: Um… You know [url=“http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html”]Discovery is already the name of a Space Shuttle, right?
wolf189: Um… You know Discovery is already the name of a Space Shuttle, right?
I like Phoenix, for the rebirth symbolism.
I like Valiant or Intrepid.
Though on a less serious note;
Boondoggle Fills the ‘B’ slot in the list
Cock
Heck, give Detroit a crack at redesigning the exterior in exchange for naming it after a Pickup Truck. Heck of an Ad campaign.
That was the very first name that came into my head when I read the thread title.
BOB Control, we have lift off.
CONTROL: Ahhh, Roger Bob.
In honor of Drake and Ilon Ramon, how about a twist on an old name:
**Bagel **