Saundby, I take it you're an insider. Can't you push Traveller up the list on the inside track? Surely there are some NASA execs who are Traveller nerds.
If so, those nodes should be rechristened, respectively, Regina, Glisten, Norris, Beowulf, Oberlindes, and of course Rhialto.
Hehe, those with inside connections are often in the -worst- position to suggest anything. I just try to keep them from doing stuff that will kill people. I let them pick the color and call it whatever they want.
The education division is behind the "Help us name it" bit. It really does drive some public interest in the whole shebang, though personally I consider it pretty cheap stuff. But, there's a reason I'm an engineer and not in marketing...
Like NASA really needs help coming up with mindless names like "Hope", "Charity", "Let's All Just Get Along", "Golly We're All So Happy", and so on.
If they _really_ wanted to get some notoriety and notice, they'd name the thing "The George W. Bush"
and let the firestorm begin. Then, about three weeks in "relent" according to plan, and rechristen it "The William Jefferson Clinton",
and let the new firestorm start. When that peaks, rename it with some unpronouncable foreign word (preferably in a dead language) along with a two paragraph explanation of what it means and why its such a great name, really, really, we mean it this time, for this section of the space station. A week later release a rumor that Gov. Somebody offered a political position to a NASA functionary to have it named that after his favorite hooker. Wash, rinse and repeat. People notice nothing so much as controversy.
You can see why
I don't get to name things.
Me: "What's wrong with 'Node 3'? Would you rather call it 'the outhouse'?"
They: "We want some pizazz, something to get public notice."
Me: "How about 'Exotic Space Weapons Complex 3-c.' That'll get noticed, and if there's something with more pizazz than exotic space weapons, I ain't seen it."
They: "No way we could call it that!"
Me: "I'm just the engineer here. If you can't be bothered to properly define your requirements and constraints, how am I supposed to be able to help you? You said you want pizazz and notice. My name fulfills those requirements."
They: "Forget we asked."
I =love= your name suggestions. We should put them on something more permanent than a piece of the ISS, and with more notice (like anyone notices the names of the pieces more than a week after launch, unless you work on or with the thing.) Believe it or not, we're already starting to work on ISS decommissioning projects. The thing has taken so long to build that it's not going to have a long life after full assembly unless a lot more interest (read as "government money") is forthcoming that doesn't look likely today. Plus it'll never reach its originally intended potential.
So maybe let's find an area of the Moon or Mars with promise and get some of the small features in the area named. Keep an eye on the people working the probes and robots, they get to do all the really fun naming.
Oh, and with respect to "Rhialto", it may interest you to know that once when I was working with a pair of avionics boxes from the Shuttle Orbiter I inscribed them with the names "Kirth" and "Cugel" to keep them straight in my mind as to which was which. It was 1982 or '83, so Rhialto wasn't available to me yet.
