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Writing the question Was a real Space Shuttle ever used as a really big simulator? (and several others) I capitalize Space Shuttle because as far as I know, that's the actual name of NASA's spacecraft, collectively and individually.

  1. Is that right?
  2. Is "Space Shuttle" a proper noun?
  3. Should we capitalize Space Shuttle when referring to
    • each one?
    • all of them as a group?
    • the project itself?
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    $\begingroup$ My tic is that I capitalize Orbiter and the "friendly names" Discovery, etc. Space Shuttle I am inconsistent on and usually just refer to the whole program as "shuttle". There may be a NASA Style Manual. Hmmm. $\endgroup$
    – Organic Marble
    Sep 13, 2019 at 1:15
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    $\begingroup$ As for Space Shuttle program: Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. $\endgroup$
    – amI
    Sep 13, 2019 at 1:53
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    $\begingroup$ This is a better fit for the English Language SE site. $\endgroup$
    – Paul
    Sep 13, 2019 at 2:21
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    $\begingroup$ @Paul 1) "better fit" is never, ever a close reason in Stack Exchange. 2) the use of space terminology is absolutely on-topic here. I'll add the terminology tag to make that clearer, and adjust the title. 3) if you read the body of the question rather than just the title, as well as the comments, you'll see that what's needed for an answer is current usage within the spaceflight industry and texts, rather than an English scholar's opinion. So I think this question, as written, is firmly on-topic. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Sep 13, 2019 at 2:30
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    $\begingroup$ Explaining space terminology is definitely on-topic. Voting to leave open. $\endgroup$
    – DrSheldon
    Sep 13, 2019 at 3:23

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This is largely an opinion-based answer, because natural language is a matter of opinion.

I capitalize Space Shuttle because as far as I know, that's the actual name of NASA's spacecraft, collectively and individually.

Is that right?

NASA's official terminology is "Space Transportation System", but if you use the term "Space Shuttle", everyone knows you mean STS. NASA does use the term "Space Shuttle", especially in public-facing material (and maybe they've entirely given up on calling it STS by now).

The spaceplane part of STS, alone, which I think is what you're referring to, is called the Orbiter (or Space Shuttle Orbiter, or STS Orbiter), but again, colloquially, if you refer to a Space Shuttle, most people will probably think of the Orbiter rather than the full stack. "Orbiter" does run into a bit of a problem: five spaceworthy shuttles were built, plus Enterprise, which wasn't equipped for spaceflight, and was used in atmospheric approach-and-landing tests. It could be argued that it's not strictly accurate to call it an "Orbiter" or a "spaceplane" or a "space shuttle", but "Space Shuttle Glider" might be unnecessary pedantry.

Is "Space Shuttle" a proper noun?

When used as a substitute for STS, yes. Improper/uncapitalized, it would be ambiguous whether you meant STS or some other reusable Earth-to-orbit system such as Buran or a hypothetical future system.

Should we capitalize Space Shuttle when referring to each one? all of them as a group? the project itself?

  • "A space shuttle": some surface-to-orbit reusable spacecraft and/or system.
  • "A Space Shuttle": one of the spacecraft constructed and operated by the STS program; context may establish whether the orbiter or the stack is being referred to.
  • "The Space Shuttles", "the Space Shuttle Orbiters": the group of orbital vehicles constructed for the STS program.
  • "The Space Shuttle Program" (informal), "The Space Transportation System Program", "The STS Program" (more formal): the program as a whole.

I've even seen very informal use of the capitalized word "Shuttle" to refer to the entire program in constructions of the form "Apollo be like this but Shuttle be like that."

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    $\begingroup$ Challenger and Columbia were Shuttles. The Shuttles were shuttles. Buran was a shuttle, but not a Shuttle. $\endgroup$
    – DrSheldon
    Aug 7, 2021 at 3:53
  • $\begingroup$ Also, "Apollo" has the same issue that it has several distinct meanings. $\endgroup$
    – DrSheldon
    Aug 7, 2021 at 3:55
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    $\begingroup$ Thanks, I meant to wedge Buran in there somewhere. $\endgroup$
    – Russell Borogove
    Aug 7, 2021 at 3:55
  • $\begingroup$ After all that about the official name versus the colloquial name, I just want to note that when a human is given a nickname, like Curly or Monkey Boy, it's still capitalized. $\endgroup$
    – Greg
    Aug 7, 2021 at 21:07

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