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Friday, November 27, 1998 Published at 20:32 GMT


Starovoitova for space station name

The ISS is now in orbit waiting the Shuttle Endeavour next month

Thousands of names have been submitted in a competition in Russia to find a name for the International Space Station.

Top of the list so far is Galina Starovoitova, the outspoken member of the Duma who was shot dead in St Petersburg a week ago.

When the first segment of the space station - called Zarya (or sunrise) - was launched on 20 November the head of the Russian Space Agency, Yuri Koptev, said "we do not have a name for the station, and we should think about it".

Among the other proposals, and in no particular order, are Duet, Tandem, Orchestra, Accord, Mercury, Venus, Zarya, Unity and Constellation.

Some suggestions have a more historical ring: to name the ISS after the world's first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, or Galileo or Columbus.

Some are not optimistic about the ISS project - they favour such names as Crisis, Armageddon or Babylon.

The station was called Alpha but that was later abandoned.

The suggestions will be collated and set on to the Russian Space Agency, who, in turn will choose the best ideas and pass them on to Russia's partners in the ISS venture.



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