Mission Return by wblack

Bryce • Science Fiction • posted on Jun 07, 2013

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Description

Mission Return Note: Image updated 06/12/2013. Image adjustment layer added to refine quality of ambient light and overall atmospheric shade and hue. An Orion’s Arm future history project image. Suborbital VTO/L Cargo Lifter flight crew debarking after a supply run to one of the many remote mining sites that would be in operation within the first century of Martian settlement. Future History Timeline Context Link: Orion’s Arm Future History Timeline. This post provides a sneak peak at my Sub-Orbital VTO/L Cargo Lifter, to be detailed in up-coming posts, the notable aspect of the vehicle in this view is the expansive space for carrying under-slung cargo – however the focus of the post is my modified version of Simon-3D’s space suit for M4 hybridized with components of the M3 Explorer Suit available at DAZ. I found Simon-3D’s helmet design too Anime/Manga in appearance to be suitable for my Hard SF themed future history – and the backpack is (by any knowledgeable estimation) far too undersized to be believable. My solution was to hybridize Simon-3D’s suit with the realistic Apollo style helmet and backpack from the M3 Explorer suit. With some scale adjustment the backpack works well, and the helmets flexible fabric skirt (covering the complex neck-ring gasket-seal) sits appropriately on the body of Simon-3D’s suit. Image Composition Notes: Sky and atmosphere are custom, color matched against true-color images from the MSL rover Curiosity. Simon-3D’s Space Suit for M4. EVA Helmet and Explorer Suit for M3 Backpack exported as Wavefront Objects and re-textured in Bryce. Suborbital VTO/L, crew-access utility cart, and port buildings and hanger models are my own Bryce creations, constructed in Bryce 6.3, rendered in Bryce 7 Pro. As always thank you for your interest, thoughtful comments, and encouragement.

Comments (17)

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wblack

7:07PM | Fri, 07 June 2013

Commentary: Where Hard Science Meets Science Fiction The Mechanical Counter Pressure (MCP) Suit I purchased Simon-3D’s space suit because the body of the suit bares a passing resemblance to a possible design variation on the Mechanical Counter Pressure (MCP) Suit under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the direction of Professor Dava J. Newman. Instead of trying to hold your body intact with air pressure, Professor Newman’s Bio-Suit uses a high-tech combination of tightly woven fibers. Open pores in the suit actually allow the body to be cooled by perspiration. Tears will cause bruising to the skin, but are not as lethal as they are on a conventional suit. The suit can be quickly put on. They do not interfere as much with movement (+20% energy expenditure, compared with +400% for a NASA suit). The MCP Bio-Suit is supplemented by an overlay system composed of hard-shell plates and gauntlets for added protection. For Winchell Chung’s Atomic Rockets Space Suit’s page go here:Space Suits. Professor Dava J. Newman’s Bio-Suit is listed under “Skin Suits.” MIT EDU Bio-Suit Overview Link:Bio-Suit Overview. Wikipedia SAS Link:Space Activity Suit. Powered Flight & the Atmosphere of Mars Atmospheric pressure on the Martian surface averages 600 pascals (0.087 psi), about 0.6% of Earth's mean sea level pressure of 101.3 kilopascals (14.69 psi). It ranges from a low of 30 pascals (0.0044 psi) on Olympus Mons's peak to 1.16 kilopascals (0.168 psi) in the depths of Hellas Planitia. This means wings cannot provide lift and rudders and flaps receive insufficient air-flow for vehicle control. Flight would be a matter of powered ballistic hops using vectored thrust for trim and stabilization. My Martian Suborbital VTO/L (Vertical Take-Off/Landing) is a heavy payload sub-mach cargo vehicle designed to ferry machinery, surface habitats, and supplies, everything a mining operation would require, and return mined and processed materials to feed the growing Martian industrial base. Vehicle ground clearance is 30 feet, with a horizontal clearance (between the duel outboard engine pods) of 150 feet, wide enough to accommodate large payload carried on pallets belly-slung much in the same manner as the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane Helicopter. Gears are set wide with large skid-pads to maximize weight distribution on landing and during loading operations. Unlike the Sikorsky S-64, payloads would be mounted so as to prevent any lateral or fore-to-aft motion, and the vehicle must land to dismount payload. Flight crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, and load-master. With the addition of a passenger pod (slung in place of the cargo load – or alternately a smaller pod slung along with a freight payload) the vehicle can transport personnel to and from remote mining operations. The NASA Design Reference Mission study and Robert Zubrin’s Mars Direct proposal have proposed that human exploration of Mars could use carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the Martian atmosphere to make rocket fuel. Two major chemical pathways for use of the carbon dioxide are the Sabatier reaction, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide along with additional hydrogen (H₂), to produce methane (CH₄) and oxygen (O₂), and electrolysis, using a zirconia solid oxide electrolyte to split the carbon dioxide into oxygen (O₂) and carbon monoxide (CO). Additionally my Martian settlers would have hydrogen and oxygen at their disposal from the water ice cracking plants set up on arrival. It is a logical necessity that the Martian settlers would have carried a number of these vehicles for the express purpose of mineralogical exploration and mining sit selection, manufactured on Earth prior to departure and packaged for transport, along with replacement parts, included in the one million tons of payload delivered during the initial supply phase of the settlement project.

ronmolina

7:31PM | Fri, 07 June 2013

Nicely done. Love the plane prop!

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MagikUnicorn

7:50PM | Fri, 07 June 2013

Gorgeous work...its reminds me the movie: THUNDERBIRDS

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wblack

7:54PM | Fri, 07 June 2013

Thanks Ronmolina, Not sure the term “plane” applies though. “Plane” (as in airplane) is precisely what it is not. The vehicle does not “fly,” in the sense that aircraft fly in Earth’s atmosphere using aerodynamic lift and pressure on flaps and rudders for vehicle control, instead it travels in powered ballistic arcs, or hops, as indicated in the text above.

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geirla

11:11PM | Fri, 07 June 2013

Great looking suit mash-up. And I really like the cargo lifter design.

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peedy

11:59PM | Fri, 07 June 2013

Fantastic image and modeling! Corrie

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ansgar2

12:21AM | Sat, 08 June 2013

Awesome...fantastic work!!!! Well done!!!!

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grafikeer

1:30AM | Sat, 08 June 2013

Really like the ship design and texturing,as well as the suit concept..never was a fan of the bulky Apollo suits,these are much more streamlined and practical! The lift is a great concept,and the low POV adds to the implied size of the ship. Very well done!

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