Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Shuttle Status for 10/05/90 (Forwarded)
Message-ID: <1990Oct24.025041.2917@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <3833@awdprime.UUCP> <5758@mace.cc.purdue.edu> <1058@dg.dg.com> <359@rhum.tcom.stc.co.uk> <1990Oct19.113553.15328@cbnewsl.att.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 90 02:50:41 GMT

In article <1990Oct19.113553.15328@cbnewsl.att.com> jlacey@cbnewsl.att.com (james.w.lacey) writes:
>I was also wondering if someone could enlighten me
>on how the names are chosen and what the sources (literary ?)
>of the names are?

The names are those of notable ships of exploration and oceanography.
Within that rule, the choice of names seems to be fairly arbitrary.
Columbia explored the US west coast.  Challenger made the first voyage
explicitly devoted to science.  There were several ships named Discovery,
notably one of Captain Cook's vessels.  Atlantis was the first ship
purpose-built for oceanography.  Endeavour was another of Cook's ships.
(Cook's explorations were so significant and commanded such respect that
US privateers during the Revolutionary War had orders not to bother him.)
-- 
The type syntax for C is essentially   | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
unparsable.             --Rob Pike     |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry