von Braun Moonship

Personnel sphere of Moonship, W. von Braun, F. Whipple, W. Ley (1953). Artwork by Fred Freeman. Click for larger version.

Deck 1: Control Deck. Workstations for Captain, Pilot, Flight Engineer, and Radio Operator. Telescope in the center is for taking navigational sightings through the iris-shuttered astrodome. Note ladderway on the right. Deck 2: Navigation Deck. The large table is the chart recorder. An analog device indicates the spacecraft's current position, which can be compared to the planned position printed on the chart. On the right is the auxiliary astrodome and telescope/tracking camera. On the left is the shower, placed here due to lack of any other place to put it. Deck 3: Crew Deck. The normal crew complement is 30, but the quarters has contour chairs for 60 in case another spacecraft in the expedition has a catastrophic failure. The spare chairs are folded up on the walls and stanchions. To the right is the ship's mess and kitchen. Deck 4: Storage Deck. General storage. Also contains the main electrical distribution panel. The toilet is also located here (but isn't shown). Deck 5: Consumables Deck. Oxygen, drinking water, grey water. Deck 6: Main air lock.

Tintin's Moon-Rocket

ROCKET Radio and radar aerial Reserve tanks Control cabin Living quarters Stores Storage tanks, air, water, etc. Auxiliary engine propellant tanks Air lock and storage compartments Vehicle and storage deck Anti-radiation shield Motors Exhaust nozzle Stabilizing fins Landing-support fairing Shock absorbers

AIR-LOCKS Passenger air-lock Protective-clothing room Cargo-loading air-lock Air-lock control room CONTROL CABIN Control desk Air-refrigeration plant Work table Observation equipment Laboratory LIVING QUARTERS Electric cooker Refrigerator Air purifier Bunks Lockers

Readers in the US might not recognize the Tintin graphic novels, but everybody in Europe has read them. This nuclear powered rocket was quite well researched for the time. The main engine is apparently a NERVA style solid nuclear thermal rocket fueled with plutonium. The launch site has a breeder reactor used to cook uranium 238 into plutonium for fuel rods. The rocket lifts off and lands with an auxillary chemical rocket fueled by nitric acid and aniline, so as to prevent contaminating the ground with radiation.

The authors of the indispensable Spaceship Handbook did find one minor mistake. The astronauts lie prone on their acceleration couches, which is pretty much the worst position possible (second only to standing on their heads).

The authors of the Spaceship Handbook suggests that this was due to Mr. Rémy misinterpreting the diagram of the Werner von Braun moonship. In that diagram, the crew members who need to monitor the chart recorder are prone, but everybody in their acceleration stations are properly on their backs.

Anyway this is a minor flaw in a design that gets it right.

The Outrim Queen

The Outrim Queen is featured in Outrim by J. Mauloni, a most scientifically accurate webcomic.

2038 Space Ship

Exploring the Moon by Rocket Ship (Modern Mechanics, August 1931)

G. Harry Stine's Space Scout

Noted rocket engineer G. Harry Stine designed this vehicle in the early 1950's. He figured that manned space stations would be controlled by the nation that built them. Therefore a scientific station could be transformed into martial moons at a trumpet call. Armed with atomic missiles, they could strike any spot on Earth.

The space scout is designed to deal with this menace, blowing up hostile stations with atomic missiles, before they can strike. Without it, the world stands unarmed and helpless before the threats of a technologically advanced dictator. At least according to Mr. Stine.

The spacecraft flies nose first in space, driven by the liquid fuel rocket engine. It flies tail first in the air, driven by the three jet engines. The jet engines are mounted on "M" shaped supersonic wings fitted with conventional airplane control surfaces. The elongated nose cone of each jet engine doubles as a landing leg. The tail of the spacecraft is bulbous to increase the surface area, and corrugated with liquid oxygen cooling pipes.

The three transparent blisters on the flight deck help the pilot to land by providing full ground visibility via a system of reflecting mirrors.

With the three man crew, two are always on duty while the third sleeps. In combat conditions all three are on duty. The craft is designed for a three-day mission, with a maximum life-support endurance of a week.

Mr. Stine later developed the design further into the "Mars Snooper." This added a petal like shields closing over the liquid fuel rocket engine bell during re-entry, and a more elongated passenger section. In 1971, the Estes model rocket company made a model rocket based on the Mars Snooper.

Tinsley Photon Rocket

This is a design for a photon-drive spacecraft, boosted into orbit by a chemical rocket. Note that the designer is a tad unclear on the concept. The photon drive is fed gigawatts of electricty by the fusion reactor, while the poor ship relies upon a crude solar boiler for its internal power. Nowadays photon drives are considered impractical, due to their ridiculous power requirements (three hundred megawatts for one lousy Newton of thrust).

• 1. Bridge deck
• 2. Cabin deck
• 3. Airtight access hatches
• 4. Retractable solar steam plant
• 5. Electronic navigational and communication gear
• 6. Stores, spacesuits, special gear, etc.
• 7. Breathing oxygen
• 8. Water supply/fusion fuel
• 9. Fusion reactor (quaintly and mistakenly label a "nuclear pile")
• 10. Reactor controls
• 11. Radiation manifold
• 12. Photon drive
• 13. Tripod legs.

Discovery

From 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)

Command Module

Main Ladder

Pod Bay Control Room

Main Pod Bay

Pod Bay Warehouse

Exterior Air Lock

HAL Logic

HAL's Brain Room

Hub

Centrifuge

Pratt and Whitney Space Station

Darrell Romick Ion Rocket

The Vulture

The Satellite

The Comet