# Ships named after Fictional Originals **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266 "2019-03-17T15:59:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266/41 "2019-03-19T19:33:28Z")
The Norwegian research vessel, _Seabed Constructor_ has a number of autonomous subs. They are made by Kongsberg Maritime AS and called HUGINs, which I’m going to guess is named after Odin’s raven Huginn. (I noticed this in a story after they were sent out to seach for the Malaysian airliner. Didn’t find it. Did find a submarine. Swings, roundabouts.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266/42 "2019-03-19T20:22:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Clarke wrote that the ship in the movie was named after this particular ship, which he had admired and sometimes eaten lunch aboard: [RRS Discovery - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_Discovery#Discovery_Point,_Dundee) > I get the _Hitchhiker’s_ reference, but not the second one (and did you mean “Chillicothe”?): [USS Chillicothe - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chillicothe_(1862)) Robert Heinlein’s _Methuselah’s Children_. Maybe I should’ve just said _Millennium Falcon_\* instead. \*The Science Fiction convention held in Philadelphia (PhilCon) in 2001 was called the _Millennium PhilCon_. It was also the 59th WorldCon. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266/43 "2019-03-19T21:10:54Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Robert Heinlein’s _Methuselah’s Children_… Ah, thanks. Never read that book. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266/44 "2019-03-20T00:49:50Z")
Officially, the Shuttle Enterprise was not named after Kirk’s starship, but after a real-world vessel that bore the same name: All Space Shuttles are officially named after wet-ships that went on voyages of scientific exploration. But that particular wet-ship was chosen as the namesake because it happened to have the same name as Kirk’s starship. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266/45 "2019-03-20T07:38:23Z")
Nasa named the Apollo 11 command module Columbia (after a mythical Jules Verne cannon used to fire a projectile to the moon). OK, it’s not a ship, but it’s in the spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2019, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266/46 "2019-03-20T09:34:27Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > Nasa named the Apollo 11 command module Columbia (after a mythical Jules Verne cannon used to fire a projectile to the moon). OK, it’s not a ship, but it’s in the spirit. The command module (and many other ships) were named after the [Columbia Rediviva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Rediviva), the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ships-named-after-fictional-originals/831266.md?page=2)