Originally Posted by
what next
There have been two uncrewed supply missions in August alone (one Cygnus and one Progress capsule) so I would guess that they packed enough spare socks on these to cater for the needs of "Suni" and "Butch" as well... BTW: For us Europeans, at least for me, it is still totally unusual, that highly respected people like these astronauts are are generally referred to on first name basis. Would the media talk about the president and his vice president as "Joe and Kamala"? Certainly not. Or were Armstrong and Aldrin ever called "Neil and Buzz" while they were on their moon mission? Not that I can remember.
If I'm recalling the facts accurately, yes . . . throughout the Apollo missions, including the three Skylab missions after the lunar landings ended, and also during the missions in Earth and lunar orbit prior to Apollo 11, Capcom addressed the astronauts on a first name basis. And during the several lunar surface EVAs (Apollo missions 11, 12, and 14-17) the astronauts communicated amongst themselves first-names consistently.
But I understand your point as referring more directly to the public-relations and media settings. I think you're probably correct, in that nicknames or diminutive forms were not generally substituted for the astronauts' full names, for example, Tom Stafford, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell.
Still, especially since both Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are U.S. Navy, recognition must be given here to the late Charles "Pete" Conrad (U.S. Navy/NASA Astronaut) - referred to with his nickname included, frequently in place of his given name.