Astronauts take off into space in a rocket

An interview with Erez Bader, one of the initiators of the new word that was recently approved by the Hebrew Language Academy as a replacement for the launcher due to the fact that the old word is too inclusive

The SLS launcher with the Artemis 1 spacecraft on it was due to launch at the original launch on August 29, 2022. The launch was delayed due to a hydrogen leak from one of the engines. Photo PR, NASA
The SLS launcher with the Artemis 1 spacecraft on it was due to launch at the original launch on August 29, 2022. The launch was delayed due to a hydrogen leak from one of the engines. Photo PR, NASA

The space industry in Israel is a pioneer in a variety of fields, but our language is poor in words describing objects from the space field. Little by little words are added, for example in the fifties they called the satellite - 'artificial moon'.

The new word that was approved a few weeks ago by the Hebrew Language Academy is marki'a - launch vehicle, a mobile transport vehicle that reaches outer space and can carry people, objects, spacecraft and other rockets. The academy's announcement stated that the term was determined with the cooperation of professionals.

Erez Bader and Aharon Perat initiated the appeal to the Academy in this matter. The term was discussed in a meeting with them and other professionals and representatives of the academy. The other professionals: Uri Oron (director of the Space Agency), Ehud Bacher (former head of the Institute for Space Research at the Technion), Bar Hayon (director of content and the website of the Space Agency), Ines Zucker (Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University). The word "skyrocketing" was one of the suggestions made by Erez Bader.

Bader is a CPA, and until recently he managed the space sector at Ernst and Young in Israel under partner Eli Barda. He is currently stationed at EY in Silicon Valley. Aharon Perat - entrepreneur and CEO of Tehiru, which develops rockets (formerly "Launcher" ) reusable with unique technology.

In an interview with the Hidan site, Bader explains: "I am a CPA at EY, the largest firm in Israel. In the last two years I managed the space sector and before that I was an audit manager for technology companies and in particular - high-tech, startups and biotech. I came to this area of ​​space out of ideology. It started with the Berashit project, where we tried to see how we could help the association, we saw that we had a lot to give in the field and we did interesting things. We continued to promote startups and even initiated the bringing of companies from abroad with the aim of promoting the construction of a civilian space port in Israel, an initiative that is currently in a very preliminary stage."

"What is happening now in the field of space is a real revolution compared to what was 30-40-50 years ago. It is a revolution of money, as opposed to political whims and cold wars - it is an economic revolution that will only grow... I spoke with Aharon Perat, a promising Israeli entrepreneur who founded Tahiro ' which develops printed launchers and includes other new technologies."

At EY, we were committed to promoting the space sector and therefore wanted to promote the establishment of a space port. If the old classic space is a domain controlled by military and other government applications, now it is starting to expand and eventually it will reach all of us, people will even be able to celebrate bar mitzvah in space.

Like a car used to be called a horseless carriage. The plane has a designated name, but with regard to launching into space we used the word launcher for the vehicle that launches people or satellites and other equipment into space. The word launcher is confusing to begin with. Because the missile itself is not launched but is launched.

The word launcher also has a military connotation. If you want to expand the audience of users and fly citizens into space on a giant rocket, at least find another name for it. Technology is also changing. Once upon a time a launcher was like those that launch satellites into space or 'Saturn 5' and end their role and life. Today there are reusable launchers. Even the SpaceX starship, which to take off from Earth is placed on the back of a larger launcher, is designed so that it can take off under its own power from the Moon or Mars.

"After talking among ourselves, we came to the conclusion that the issue should be promoted. We approached the academy and they asked to suggest some new words. The two of us - me and Aharon - established a list of words that would describe this tool. One of the words I thought of was 'soaring.' As far as I know, Hebrew is the first language that invented a separate name for a vehicle that can take off from a planet or an asteroid and go into outer space."

From left to right: Erez Bader, Space Manager EY Silicon Valley, Aharon Perat Menchal and the founder of the Tahiro Space Company, Eli Barda, Partner at EY Israel and Director of the Space Sector
From left to right: Erez Bader, Space Manager EY Silicon Valley, Aharon Perat Menchal and the founder of the Tahiro Space Company, Eli Barda, Partner at EY Israel and Director of the Space Sector

According to Bader, the term skyrocket sometimes includes two stages, for example a 'starship' and a 'Super Heavy' launcher. In this case both are considered to be skyrocketing. The dragon that soars the starship into space, but the starship itself is also soared, because as mentioned it is designed to take off from bodies with a lower gravitational force on its own. The launch method does not matter, because even a missile that comes out of a plane (as in Virgin Orbit, which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings) is considered to be skyrocketing, as well as other launch methods such as a 'spin launch' - a device fixed to the ground that raises objects into space after gaining acceleration by rotating inside the device. Of course that it is not suitable for launching humans or even satellites, but for example construction materials and fuel can certainly be launched cheaply using such a facility. The capsules in which those items will be stored will also be called rockets.

More on the subject on the science website

Comments

  1. "Soaring" is a redundant word.

    People fly into space in a spaceship carried on a rocket. A launcher is the facility from which launches are made
    The rocket and the spacecraft on it.

    There is simply no more of that.

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