Sally, Jose and I looked at each other as if to say, “Are you kidding me?”
Mrs. Smith then called off our names and assigned us our seats. Each group had an appointed leader who would try to facilitate the discussion and attempt to select one name. After each group had chosen their name for the spaceship, everyone would form one group and decide among the four final submitted names. This name would be given to the ship’s administrators, and they could accept it or move on to the second choice. They could even make us do it all over again.
I was selected as the leader of one group. Sophie was with me. I hoped she would be cooperative with me as the leader. Jackie Sands was the leader of group two. I thought that was an excellent choice. My brother, Robert, was with her. I did not believe that was going to help Jackie, but I did hope it would work out for them. Mark Lewis headed the third group, and my friend Jose directed the last group. I wish he had been on my team, as we worked well together. Sally was also in his group.
After everyone was in their seats and provided with paper and pencil to keep notes, Mrs. Smith let us know our topics. My group was told to look at star constellations and narrow it down to one choice. That was not going to be easy since there were so many famous stars or groups of stars. Jackie’s group was told to focus on words that related to strength or peace. Mark’s group focused on military words related to space travel. Jose was given a list of famous people’s names and instructed to narrow it down to one.
My group started their work. We looked on a computer to list the most famous star constellations and the reason for their names. We did not want to select planet names, so a name like Jupiter was immediately voted out. Then we had to decide what culture or language to use since some of the constellations had different names for the same group of stars. Some of the titles selected were: Calisto, a nymph; Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear; and Ursa Major, the Big Bear. We also picked Orion, which is one of the oldest star groups. Indian names such as Alizar and Mizar were also chosen to be on the list. Then we decided to eliminate all the Zodiac names. Hercules was also another name that was removed early. Who wanted to call a spaceship the Hercules?
After two hours there was a lunch break. We were provided with a variety of lunch meats and salads and sat around and discussed how we were doing. I sat down with Jose and Sally. Jose and Sally said that some of the famous names that had been put on a list so far included: Galileo, Einstein, Newton, and Goddard, who is credited with the invention of the first spaceship. They also had eliminated some names such as the names of all the presidents. I told them about the names of the possible star groups we had selected. All three of us agreed it was not going to be easy to convince everyone to vote for one title among the final four selections.
Once lunch finished, everyone went back to their assigned places. My group began narrowing our choices down. For the most part, there was not much disagreement. Finally, my group decided on the name Ursa Minor. It had taken us about three hours to make that decision. I turned in the name Ursa Minor to Mrs. Smith. Calisto had been the other final choice. We looked forward to explaining to the group why we chose this name and why it was the perfect name.
My team looked around to see if the other three groups were finished. The other three teams looked like they were in the final stages of making their decision. I was curious what names they would select. My job would be to present and explain why Ursa Minor should be the name of the ship. I was ready to reveal its roots to Roman mythology and the fact it was a vast constellation.
Thirty minutes later, the other teams had selected their top name and given them to Mrs. Smith. After a ten-minute break, everyone sat down to listen to the presentations of the four group leaders.
I went first. My presentation lasted five minutes. Most of the people there knew all about Ursa Minor. It was used in navigation and was a way of guiding people to the north since it lay close to the North Pole. My group hoped to see Ursa Minor no matter where we traveled in space.
Jose went second with his team’s selection. He said, “We have chosen Goddard who did the research and scientific work to build the first liquid-fueled rocket. Some of his own studies were used by the engine and propulsion team on board the ship, so it is only appropriate we call the ship The Goddard. He launched his first successful rocket in 1926 almost exactly a hundred years before this ship. Without him, we might not have this spaceship. I encourage you all to vote for The Goddard.”
Mark gave the next name proposal. His group had selected Achilles, a famous soldier from the Greek Trojan Wars. He had tragically died when he was shot in his Achilles heel. However, he had tremendous fighting skills.
Jackie was the last presenter. She stood up and said, “The first three picks are wonderful possibilities. Robert selected our name at first. We played around with other names, but this word was definitely the best one. It is ‘Imagine.’ There are two reasons for this name. First, we are going to have to use a lot of imagination in our travels through space. We do not know what obstacles or problems will occur or when they will happen. All of us are going to have to use our imagination to solve a lot of problems. We will be creating new solutions to old problems and new solutions to problems we cannot even predict.
“The second reason is John Lennon’s “Imagine” song. This song related to just about everything we will be facing in space. It is almost like he wrote the song for us as we leave Earth. In his song, he talks about imagining no countries, and we really will not have a state anymore, as we will be united with the other ships. All of us going on the trip have to be dreamers, as this has never been done before. He also talks about imagining no possessions. This means to us we will only have a small number of items on board with no money to buy anything. The last reason is that no one on this ship will go hungry it looks like. We are all imagining what the food will be like on this spaceship.”
Everyone laughed at this last statement.
Now Mrs. Smith stood up and said, “All of your choices were really great. I want to thank the leaders for working with their groups to select such fine names.”
Everyone stood up and applauded the four leaders who took a bow.
Mrs. Smith continued, “Now we have four sections. I cannot tell you which one I am partial to. It is up to all of you now to discuss which names you like or do not like, and then we will have a vote. Each time you vote, we will eliminate one name. The final vote will decide which name you have selected for our ship. I think you can discuss which names you want to vote for among yourselves in small groups for about fifteen minutes. Then I will ask for a paper ballot vote so that you will not know who voted for what name. You can only vote for one name each time. Is that clear to everyone?”
Everyone nodded their agreement and began discussing the pros and cons of each name. I sat with my brother, Robert, and Jose. Robert said he was not sure if I liked the idea of Imagine, but I told him it was a brilliant choice and to wait and see what happens. After fifteen minutes the team leaders passed out a piece of paper to each person in the room. Everyone then put down the name that was their favorite.
Mrs. Smith walked around with a paper bag, and we all dropped our ballot into it. After a few minutes spent tabulating the results, Mrs. Smith stood up and said, “We have our first eliminated name. The name that has been eliminated first is… “ She paused like this was a game show. “Achilles.”