Could NASA Implement Branding On Space Rockets?

As reported in the Washington Post, it’s possible that NASA could eventually allow corporate brands to bid for the rights to place company logos and other branding on the side of the agency’s space rockets.

According to the article, “NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has directed the space agency to look at boosting its brand by selling naming rights to rockets and spacecraft and allowing its astronauts to appear in commercials and on cereal boxes, as if they were celebrity athletes.”

The arguments for and against selling the “naming” rights to corporate brands are plentiful and both sides have merit.

The most interesting part of the story, from a human perspective, is the idea that corporate branding will somehow make kids want to be astronauts or engineers or rocket surgeons. Maybe this is one step towards tackling a bigger branding emphasis for NASA itself, which is where efforts should probably be focused.

If this is about more than making a quick buck for the agency and they want to inspire future generations to embrace space exploration, then it’s better to start making the organization’s brand appear desirable to today’s youth. We’re not convinced that a corporate logo on the side of a rocket will accomplish that monster-sized task.

What do you think?