Practical Spacecraft Design by TomPeters
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Description
So, I like to play at "realism" in spacecraft design. That is to say, I like to try to address some of the real problems of trying to design manned ships to explore space (and blithely ignoring many, many others, no doubt). I enjoy trying to design something reasonable within these constraints. I'm not an engineer, I don't calculate fuel tolerances, or rigorously calculate the center of gravity, though I do have a rough idea of what these would need to be. I'm fascinated by, and pay attention to, what future planners of hardware come up with. And I love the look of some of these designs, and like to riff on them, like this design, dubbed "The Propeller" by folks in the space community.
But here's the problem: I'm also an artist, meaning I'm interested in creating an evocative, aesthetic image to communicate emotion. I like to do that within the "realistic" constraints because I, personally, have a low threshold of suspension of disbelief, and I like to portray scenes I think have some possibility of being realized. Of course, I'll blithely go off and work in the consensus SciFi universe when that's the assignment, and greatly enjoy it. But, sometimes, I like to try to get a little more factual.
So here is a pretty reasonable near future manned ship. And this is the problem, because without a lot of foreknowledge, the audience viewing it would have NO idea what was going on here, without all my labels and arrows. The folks that hang around to look at the image in detail will get so involved in trying to figure out which way is "up" that any underlying artistic content will be lost.
I'd really like to read what everyone thinks about this conundrum.
The image was rendered in Lightwave and Photoshop CS2, with some temp textures for now. I was working on the ship for a hypothetical Comet rendezvous spacecraft, but I think I'm going to do something a little more conventional for that image. The Mars landscape below is modeled with Laser Altimetry data from the Mars Observer Spacecraft.
Thanks for having a look, and for your comments!
-Tom
Comments (14)
lyron
Great work!!
Geophree
Outstanding image and words.
DAVER2112
Excellent work!! :)
Biffowitz
Nice work indeed, looks great!
Azatoth
I like the picture, but I think this version would not be feasible. The stress on the spine, containing the elevator would be too big, and it would bend and break. I think thrust would have to be applied parallel to said axis.
TomPeters
Thanks, everyone, for the comments. Azathoth, remember the ion engines are only thrusting at a couple of hundredths of a gee. (unlike George Lucas'concept of an ion engine) So that stress is pretty minimal. As for keeping loads balanced with the elevator moving, there is a counterweight on the far arm that moves as the elevator does.
dlund
If I were going to fly that ship, I'd like an alternative to the elevator that didn't mean donning a suit, so I could access the engines for repair. Also, a landing module? I do like your work, and appreciate the effort to 'keep it real'.
TomPeters
Good point, dlund. Some sort of pressurized access tube to the hub would probably be prudent. The lander for the Comet is actually stowed in a garage on the other side of the Hub, as are a couple of robot survey vehicles. Hmm, y'know, considering the centrifugal peudogravity gets less and less the farther you go toward the hub, maybe we just replace the elevator with a pressurized tube and a long ladder...
arcas
Nice WIP. I'm grooving on the design - sorta like that old Cobb piece we've talked about.
geirla
Well I think it's cool and doesn't need any explanation. But I'm biased. I did something similar last year. Tech drawing: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1619716&member Art Drawing: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1615923&member I used the elevator option too, figuring it would mass less than a solid tube. If it looks cool, it doesn't need to be explained. If it's ugly, nobody will care. (though trust me, understand the need to explain - especially about radiators vs. solar panels)
NefariousDrO
That's a pretty cool design. I suppose I could quibble over the details, but the truth is everyone envisions this kind of thing a bit differently, and yours is certainly as valid as any of my ideas. I like this kind of realism, and I think this is a really nice piece.
dbrv6
Its an interesting concept. I remember a discussion that talked about the need to separate elements of the ship from the living quarters for a long journey and possible solutions for it - that assumed current levels of shielding available. The ION engines are interesting, I had read a little along time ago but now NASA and Wiki both have much better pages to read about them. It is certainly a near future engine for space. The question might be is the engine sufficient and fast enough to facilitate reasonable human travel to a nearby planet and back considering the entire arc of travel based on constant acceleration - flipping over and constant thrust to deaccelerate to reach the target.
Pagrin
I like the design. Replacing the elevator with a preasurized tube however has a possible side effect. This means you need more Life support equipment to maintain the air within the tube. It is also a large surface area which need to be shielded from radiation and other possible hazards like micro meterors. The elevator needs much less support and maintainance power. Having said that there is no reason you can add an external ladder and a simple cage frame just inside the scaffold. That way if needs be (the lift is broken for example) you couldn't put on a suit and go eva in realative safety.
dcmstarships
tremendous work! would love to see more of this kind of stuff. I applaud your adherence to practicality while striving for pleasing aesthetics