Navy slang in space? Options

[dvandorn]

I've noted that two Navy CDRs on Apollo flights (Conrad and Young) both used the word "started" when context would indicate they meant "targeted." Conrad says it when he spots Surveyor Crater during final descent ("It's started right for the center of the crater!") and Young uses it when praising the targeting after his landing ("You guys just started us right in there.").

I bet we have a few ex-Navy types out there. Any of you have a clue as to whether "started" in Navy terms means "targeted"?

-the other Doug

[nprev]

I'm not Navy, but have also noticed a lot of naval terms used in MSF, "docking" being the most obvious example. (Don't tell Air Force Space Command, though; they'll get quite upset! )

Of course, I'm certain that some other Navy & joint service slang terms that are not ready for prime time are used frequently when not on hot mike... IIRC, the Apollo 10 crew used several, uh, interjections & nouns during an unexpected LM maneuver while in lunar orbit that caused someone at JSC to hang a sign in Mission Control that said something like 'Apollo 10 mission: For mature audiences only!'

[Jim from NSF.com]

I've noted that two Navy CDRs on Apollo flights (Conrad and Young) both used the word "started" when context would indicate they meant "targeted." Conrad says it when he spots Surveyor Crater during final descent ("It's started right for the center of the crater!") and Young uses it when praising the targeting after his landing ("You guys just started us right in there.").

I bet we have a few ex-Navy types out there. Any of you have a clue as to whether "started" in Navy terms means "targeted"?

-the other Doug

"Started" as in "placed" for Young. Just like this example: "I didn't know where to go until you started me out in the right place"

It isn't a Navy term, just poor english

[nprev]

....Ahrrrrrr....

Seriously, though, there does seem to be a significant amount of wet Navy terminology creeping into MSF, which is not only a result of the backgrounds of many US astronauts but also due to the nature of the environment. Notice the fact that during STS-120 the ISS crew announced Discovery's departure in traditional naval style, with a bell & announcement.

Not a bad thing at all...it's a noble and very ancient set of traditions (bet if anyone looked hard enough they'd find connections clear back to the Phoenicians) that helps us keep a familiar frame of reference in an otherwise utterly unfamiliar place.

Sail on, me hearties, sail on...sail on forever, till we've seen the last star, the last world...

[dvandorn]

...Notice the fact that during STS-120 the ISS crew announced Discovery's departure in traditional naval style, with a bell & announcement.

This, along with many other ISS traditions (including its informal radio callsign, Alpha) was established more than seven years ago by the first expedition crew, commanded by Bill Shepherd.

Shepherd was USN, of course. An ex-Seal, to be specific. But it was Shepherd who brought the ship's bell to ISS, and who instituted the "ringing in" of all new and visiting crew.

-the other Doug

[nprev]

I like it. It's somehow very comforting to see the establishment of traditions in space travel, and I think that it's needed.

Naval traditions arose from extended periods of exposure to the unknown, distance from family & friends, and the need to establish a routine, a framework for life...Shepherd did well, and hopefully this will continue.

[edstrick]

Heinlein systematically and carefully modified nautical conventions into space-faring ones in "Starman Jones", one of his best so-called juveniles.

Feintuch systematically used them in his series of starflight, colonization and space-war novels... very Hornblower'ish.

[dvandorn]

And, of course, the Star Trek universe's Starfleet is a quasi-naval organization. It certainly borrows more from naval traditions than any other service traditions.

-the other Doug

[dvandorn]

And let's not forget the many manned spacecraft that have borne names of naval tradition -- Yankee Clipper, Intrepid, Endeavour (2), Challenger (2)... and Enterprise.

-the other Doug

[paxdan]

and the unmanned ones.

Beagle 2.

[stevesliva]

Naval traditions arose from extended periods of exposure to the unknown

and chastity

[nprev]

...well, having sailed myself for a couple of years, yeah, I'm sure that inventing customs was one way to pass the time; also a good method to instill crew discipline. Fortunately, we always had gender-mixed crews & and ample library of movies (literally hundreds!) on Super-8 VHS...

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

The only Navy talk I've heard:
“Any ship can be a minesweeper… once.”
"There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky.”

[nprev]

One set of terms I haven't heard are port & starboard, perhaps because spacecraft can maneuver in three dimensions.

[dvandorn]

Really? What do you think the P stands for in the P6 truss? Or the S in the S4 truss?



-the other Doug