America's fleet of Space Shuttle orbiters are named after pioneering
sea vessels which established new frontiers in research and
exploration. NASA delved through the history books to find ships
which achieved historical significance through discoveries about the
world's oceans or the Earth itself. Another important criterion in
the selection process was consideration for the international nature
of the Space Shuttle program. The name of NASA's newest orbiter,
Endeavour was selected from names submitted by school children around
the world.