Netflix’s “Space Force” takes the comedy from the relatively serious business of space exploration. The comedy series, helmed by Steve Carell’s goofy general Mark Naird, follows the titular space agency and the hilarious gaffes its employees fall into. There’s something pretty special about watching characters who are highly accomplished scientists and military strategists get into mischief while also being responsible for some of the most ambitious and expensive missions in the land.
One of the main objectives of the agency seems to be the safeguarding of American satellites. Unfortunately, repeated hacks, attacks and general bureaucracy make it impossible for everything to run smoothly. In Season 1, rival Chinese agencies destroy a satellite by removing its solar panels, while Season 2 finds another that falls out of orbit and potentially into Russian territory. Although much of the series is fiction, the narrative draws some aspects from real life. So, what category do satellites belong to? Are the Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis and Rush satellites real satellites? Let’s find out.
Are Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis and Rush real satellites?
The show’s titular agency operates a number of satellites, and the subject usually comes up whenever one is hacked, attacked, or otherwise compromised. In Season 2, a satellite named Blue Oyster Cult begins to fall out of orbit, expecting to crash into Russia. The other satellites the agency currently controls are called Genesis and Rush. Although no one in the government office notices, Naird’s teenage daughter Erin points out that all of their satellites are named after rock bands.
As ironic as it sounds, there have been actual space programs and satellites with some pretty interesting names (more on that later). However, it seems that those seen on “Space Force”, namely – Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis and Rush, are not true satellites. It seems giving satellite rock band names is part of the Netflix show’s comedic ammunition.
That said, it should be noted that there was actually a NASA probe named Genesis, which was launched in August 2001 with the goal of collecting samples of solar wind particles. However, the mission, which aimed to collect data that would help model the formation of stellar objects, was apparently named for the actual meaning of the word “Genesis” and not for the rock band.
Over the years, American satellites have had a variety of titles, including names such as the Surveyor and Ranger missions to the moon and the Pioneer missions to the sun, among others. There are also missions with more poetic names, such as the Juno mission to Jupiter, which takes its name from Greek and Roman mythology. Since Juno’s goal was to orbit Jupiter and collect data about it, the mission was “romantically” named after the mythological god’s wife, Juno. There is also the Swedish-French-Canadian-Finnish satellite named Odin, after the Norse god.
And so, despite the interesting names, it seems that satellites aren’t usually named after rock bands (unless that’s coincidental). In case you were wondering, the opposite is happening as there seems to be a rock band called “Satellite”. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Blue Oyster Cult, Genesis, and Rush aren’t actual satellites, but just another comedic aspect of Netflix’s “Space Force.”
Read more: Where was Space Force season 2 filmed?
