It was 1976, and NASA had picked the name Constitution for this first orbiter as a celebration of the US bicentennial. Bjo Trimble, unquestionably the most famous and influential fan in Star Trek history, launched a letter writing campaign, asking fans to send letters and petitions asking that the name be changed to Enterprise.
The White House was soon flooded with thousands of letters asking that the orbiter be named Enterprise. Yes, I readily admit it. My letter was among those sent to Washington D.C. Although President Gerald Ford never mentioned the campaign, the president said that he was "partial to the name" because he had served aboard the carrier USS Monterey that served with USS Enterprise and overrode NASA officials.
Letter writing campaigns allow you to speak your mind, to encourage and inspire others, to display your passion and ideas. Take Sarah Hale as an example. Prior to the US Civil War, she promoted a letter writing campaign to Presidents Pierce and Buchanan (as well as other local, state and national politicians) declaring that a Day of Thanksgiving might be the way to avoid a war. She didn't stop writing until President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day an annual federal holiday, 17 years after her first letter.
There would be five more flights where Enterprise was carried to a launch height and then jettisoned through the use of explosive bolts, allowed to glide to a landing on the runways at Edwards AFB under its own control. These flights were intended to test the flight characteristics of the orbiter on a typical approach and landing profile from orbit. For those of us who were part of the letter writing campaign to name the shuttle Enterprise, the flights were not merely tests, but rather a testament to a vision of a future based on cooperation and harmony.
Whatever your passion, whatever your desire, whatever you feel strongly about, write about it. Let it become your testament to the future.
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