Stop Calling Things 'Mobile Space Stations'

Spacedock has a puerile rant about Space Terminology.

BECOME A CHANNEL MEMBER:

SUPPORT SPACEDOCK:

MERCHANDISE:

Do not contact regarding network proposals.

Battlezone II Music by Carey Chico

Spacedock does not hold ownership of the copyrighted materiel (Footage, Stills etc) taken from the various works of fiction covered in this series, and uses them within the boundaries of Fair Use for the purpose of Analysis, Discussion and Review. Produced by Daniel Orrett. Owner/Executive Producer at Spacedock.

[cloverfield]

Somehow, "That's no moon, it's a Mobile Platform" doesn't seems to roll off the tongue as smoothly!!

[KingofPotatoPeople]

But language does change over time so calling it a mobile space station might make sense in that culture in the same way that archaic and technically inaccurate terms survive into the present in real life, like a car’s dashboard has barely any resemblance to the original dashboard on a coach (which stops all the mud flying up on the driver) or people talking about ‘taping’ a TV show when no magnetic tape is used in DVR’s. So I wouldn’t get too angry!

[allmybasketsinoneegg]

Don't hate on Obi-Wan Kenobi too much, seeing something that ridicilously large for the first time, he probably assumed it wouldn't move.

[JanusVesta]

Also "That's no moon, it's a space station" is fine because Obi-Wan had no way of knowing the Death Star could move at that point. He's wrong, but only out of ignorance.

[StYxXx]

Don't blame Obi-Wan. How could he know what the death star is? It looked huge and stationary. At least he realized it wasn't a "moon".
(also he was just a desert hobo not a rocket scientist/engineer)

[axon]

I'd say the term mobile space station is adequately descriptive. As to why not just call it a ship? Well, a ships job is to 'ship' things, thats why it is called a ship. A stations job is to 'stay' somewhere, even if it techically can move. Thats the difference, a ships job is to go places, a stations job is to do things once it's there. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[INFantryX]

I would say the Death Star if there has to be a new term for it should be mobile starbase, because of the garrison nature of the Death Star you can call it a mobile base

[alexanderdavies]

I see your point, and it's fairly made, but I think the term isn't necessarily a bad one. I think you could make the argument that it can come down to strategic and tactical roles of a weapons system. For instance, yes the Death Star can move to a new target and battlefield, but once there and engaged, it's purpose is to be stationary, like a battle-station. If the tactics of a vehicle are for it to move to engage, but then become more of a base, then I think it is fair to describe it as a station. There are real life parallels to this too where weapons systems that are technically mobile are officially and vernacularly described as stationary. Heavy siege artillery, for instance is often described as a strategically and tactically stationary despite being able to move from place to place between engagements. This is as opposed to, say, a field gun which is meant for more tactical movement. The same is true for mobile bases and other structures like bridges and docks. They can be picked up and moved to new locations, but once engaged, are designed to be stationary until required to move again, thus they become "mobile bases" or "mobile bridges" etc.
With this in mind, I think it makes perfect sense for characters in their respective universes to describe these objects as mobile-stations. Even if, to us, on a fully technical level the term may be frustrating, it would make sense for the people in-universe to refer to it in a similar way to our own militaries referring to "mobile-immobile" assets.

Thats the difference between the Eclipse and the Executor and the smaller Colossus, tactical implementation. The two former are designed to actively move around while engaged in combat, whereas the Colossus (and the Death Star and other "stations") are not, therefore it would actually make more sense to separate them into different categories of weapon in order to minmize confusion among the ranks or with newer commanders. To them, a ship would be a tactically mobile asset, whereas a station is a strategically mobile asset but a tactically stationary one.

[umascariatuerich]

So Tycho Station of The Expanse isn't a station but a mobile platform, too

[rensc]

What if the station moved from its location to another to be deployed again somewhere to act in the role of a space station? So its a mobile...space...(wait for it)...station.
QED (EDIT) Wait just thought of it, let's call it a mobile Spacedock.

[thepoliticalstartrek]

I don' think they are ships or stations. I think a better term would be a Space RIG. Rigs are meant to be stationary then moved under their own power or external power. They are a majority of the time stationary,

[STNuevo]

I disagree. I've created also a ship / carrier / station. This is designed to support colonization, terra forming and other projects in deep space. Once it reach the far destination because it's mobile like a ship, it act as a station e.g in orbit of a planet. Therefore I use the term mobile space station ;) So the purpose of this plattform can change.
Yes I can call it ship if it's moving and station if it act as a station. But why, I have no issues with the term mobile space station.

[heavythefatty]

I am gonna get you started with starkiller Base

[Arashmickey]

"Dear Memory Alpha,
Deep Space 9 is not a space station. It is, in fact, a re-purposed mobile space ore refinery platform.
Live Long and Prosper, Spacedock."

[NitpickingNerd]

Deep Space 9 could also move around the bajoran solar system but was still called a space station because it was in a fixed position in the solar system for most of the time

[h.plovecat]

Well I mean..."Station" doesn't mean "Stationary". It just means a place people regularly meet. Aaand by that definition most ships and planets are Stations...Words are....Stupid?

[markborst]

Is it not (space) station like train station? A place to station other vehicles. Not station like stationary.

[jetfowl]

The term "station" does not always imply stationary. Ergo, your argument is invalid.

Now everyone, man your stations!!!

[Ennio]

Directionality, that's the distinction in people's heads. I think that we're still stuck in naval age thinking, and to us, a station is supposed to be a castle-analogue, while a big ship is a big ship. The crux of the matter here is directionality. If a ship looks like it's pointing somewhere, we recognise it as a ship. If it doesn't, it's like a castle, which has no clear "direction". Because it doesn't move.


The Death Star can move around, but it shows no clear directionality. Any ship which is symmetrical or has a vertical shape and no clear drive exhaust, or has multiple drives in different directions, well, we register it as "castle", not "ship". Space station.

I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying people tend to think this way.

[Иван-кьу]

I disagree. "Station" means something that supposed to stay in one place, it doesn't mean that it isn't supposed to be moved. Pretty much anything space-based can be moved, ISS for example is a station, but if need be - it can be moved.Sci-fi wise there is very interesting example in Medina station from Expanse. It was a ship - but as soon as it was "stationed" in one place - it became station.