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SpaceX's Quirky Cosmic Names Revealed!
1 Jul
Summary
- SpaceX's vehicles and infrastructure have cosmic-inspired names.
- Falcon 9 is named after the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.
- Drone ships are named after spacecraft from Iain M. Banks' novels.
SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, has a notable practice of bestowing cosmic-inspired names upon its rockets, spacecraft, and even ground-based infrastructure. The company's latest AI constellation is named 'Starmind,' aligning with Musk's ambitious goals for orbital data centers.
The Starship megarocket, standing at 407 feet, is developed and launched from Starbase, Texas. Its most recognizable rocket, the Falcon 9, draws its name from the Millennium Falcon in the 'Star Wars' franchise, with the '9' referencing its nine Merlin engines.
SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet business, launched in 2019, now serves over 7 million users globally. Autonomous drone ships like 'Shortfall of Gravitas' and 'Just Read the Instructions' in Florida, and 'Of Course I Still Love You' in California, are essential for booster landings and are named after spaceships from Iain M. Banks' science fiction novels.
Even the Dragon space capsule, capable of carrying astronauts to the International Space Station, was originally named 'Puff the Magic Dragon' by Musk in response to early critics, a nod to the popular song. Furthermore, infrastructure at Starbase includes 'mechazilla,' a colossal catching tower, and 'Gigabay' in Florida for Starship finalization.
