All Aboard for Outer Space!

All Aboard for Outer Space! (Mechanix Illustrated. Jan, 1956): Is this the ship that will take us to earth’s first manned satellite?

Scans: All Aboard for Outer Space!

Sanger-Bredt Antipodal Bomber

Most people can tell you that the Germans were developing some weird aircraft during the World War II. The German Antipodal Bomber (or Silverbird) was one of these. A revolutionary rocket-powered aircraft, it was designed for supersonic, stratospheric flight capable of striking targets anywhere in the world, that proposed Dr. Eugen Sanger and Irena Bredt in the late 1930s. In 1944 the Antipodal Bomber became one of chosen concepts to bring a "Miracle Weapon" to the USA (it was only one of the Amerika Bomber project). The design was a significant one, as it incorporated new rocket technology and spaceplane concept ideas. In the end, it was considered too complex and expensive to produce. After the war ended, the Sanger-Bredt design formed the basis for major development projects in the 1950-60s (X-20 Dyna-Soar in the US and Keldysh Bomber in the USSR), but these were cancelled.

Click images view full size:

© Vadim Lukashevich / Buran.ru.


© Josha Hildwine / Luft Art images.

For more information check out the following sources:

Silbervogel / Wikipedia.

Sanger Amerika Bomber / Luft '46.

Amerika Bomber project by E. Saenger and J. Bredt, August 1944. (PDF)

NASA's New Spaceships

NASA awarded a $7.5 billion dollar contract to build a manned spaceship to Lockheed Martin Corp. The Orion crew exploration vehicle is supposed to replace the Space Shuttle fleet. New Spaceship will be primarily used for the missions to the ISS. It is also supposed to take astronauts to the Moon and perhaps on to Mars.

NASA has selected Lockheed Martin Corp. as the prime contractor to design, develop, and build Orion, America's spacecraft for a new generation of explorers. The Orion crew capsule will carry astronauts back to the Moon and later to Mars. The first flight with astronauts aboard is planned for no later than 2014. Orion's first flight to the moon is planned for no later than 2020. Orion improves on the best features of Project Apollo and the Space Shuttle Program, increasing the likelihood of success. Versatility will be Orion's trademark. It is being designed to fly to the moon, but could also be used to service the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.

Source: NASA Constellation Program





Photo Credits: NASA/John Frassanito and Associates.

Link to flash animations, 3D models, and slideshows of NASA's new spaceship

Link to full resolution photos of NASA's new spaceship

Well, it's interesting. Lockheed Martin gets Apollo 2.0? NASA opted to benefit from a design but technology approach similar to that used for the development of the U.S. Apollo and Russian Soyuz. The space agency will be developing 1960's old technology of rockets for the next 15 years?

Apollo 9 Art by Russell Arasmith

Beautiful drawings by artist Russell Arasmith. These were used by NASA to illustrate the Apollo 9 Mission.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Russell Arasmith. Please do not use images without the permission.

Source: Apollo Mission Control Photo Plus

Gallery: Apollo 9 Art by Russell Arasmith

Space Colonies & Starships

Technology and engineering discussion of possible space colonies designs. Space colonies, spaceships, design and technology for living in space, etc.

Sources:

NASA and SSI of O'Neill Bernal Sphere design

NASA Stanford Torus design

NASA and SSI of Island Three paired cylinder design

A few illustrations - not the NASA ones

Starships and Space Colonies

Below are a few examples. You can click on images for a much larger version.

Stanford Torus

The Stanford Torus was the principal design considered by the 1975 NASA Summer Study, which was conducted in conjunction with Stanford University (and published as Space Settlements: A Design Study, NASA Publication SP-413). It consists of a torus or donut-shaped ring that is one mile in diameter, rotates once per minute to provide Earth-normal gravity on the inside of the outer ring, and which can house 10,000 people.

Stanford Torus external view. The overhead mirror brings sunlight into the colony through a series of louvred mirrors on the inner ring. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

Stanford Torus cutaway view. The rotation of the torus provides Earth-normal gravity on the inside. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

Stanford Torus interior. It seems unlikely that early colonies will have a population density this low. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

Stanford Torus agriculture, conducted on multiple tiers for efficient use of space. Agriculture in space can be very productive because of the controlled environment. Painting courtesy of NASA.

Stanford Torus construction. Depicted is the final stages of installation of the radiation shielding. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

Source: Stanford Torus

Bernal Sphere

The Bernal Sphere design is very similar to that used in the science fiction series Babylon 5, although the original Bernal Sphere design is much smaller, only 1 mile in circumference, and can house 10,000 people.

Bernal Sphere external view. It was later learned that the mirrors won't work properly in this configuration and will need to be redesigned. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

Bernal Sphere cutaway view. The sphere rotates twice per minute to provide Earth-normal gravity on the inside. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

Bernal Sphere agricultural rings seen in cross-section. Farming occurs in the upper layers, and animal husbandry in the lower layers where gravity is a little stronger. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

Bernal Sphere interior, complete with California-style wine and cheese party, and human powered flight in the lower-gravity area near the axis. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

Bernal Sphere hub still in the construction phase, with shielding and mirrors being installed. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

Bernal Sphere low-gravity recreation area at dusk, protected by netting. Gravity becomes lower as you approach the center, and at the very top are the zero-gravity honeymoon suites. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of L5 News and National Space Society.

Source: Bernal Sphere

O'Neill Cylinder

The O'Neill Cylinder, designed by Princeton physicist Gerard K. O'Neill, is considerably larger than the other two designs, and is referred to as an "Island 3" or 3rd-generation space colony. The configuration consists of a pair of cylinders, each 20 miles long and 4 miles in diameter. Each cylinder has three land areas alternating with three windows, and three mirrors that open and close to form a day-night cycle inside. The total land area inside a pair of cylinders is about 500 square miles and can house several million people. The cylinders are always in pairs which rotate in opposite directions, cancelling out any gyroscopic effect that would otherwise make it difficult to keep them aimed toward the sun.

O'Neill Cylinder exterior. The modules on the large ring structure around the endcap are used for agriculture. Each module could have differing environments ideal for a particular set of food items. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

O'Neill Cylinder interior provides a 20-mile vista. Children born here would think it totally normal to have "upside down" land areas overhead. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA.

A dramatic side view of an O'Neill Cylinder showing a cloud level forming at an altitude of 3000 feet. Painting copyright by Don Davis courtesy of the artist.

O'Neill Cylinder endcap. The artist's inspiration came after O'Neill suggested to him that the view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito would provide an excellent scale reference for a later model cylindrical colony. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

O'Neill Cylinder vista with ruddy hues caused by a fairly rare solar eclipse. The cylinders are large enough to have weather, which could even be made to change with the seasons, perhaps depending on a colonist vote. Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

Source: O'Neill Cylinder

Terry L. Sunday Digital Space Art

Artist says: "Space art," sometimes called "Astronomical Art," has a long and respectable history. Artists have been creating imaginative works showing conceptual and fanciful spacecraft, strange new worlds and awesome galactic vistas since long before the first primitive artificial satellites were boosted into earth orbit. Until the advent of the computer, space artists relied on traditional media, such as oil paints on canvas or acrylics on illustration board, to show us their visions. Today’s powerful desktop computers provide an optional medium. The images on this Digital Space Art website show some of the capabilities of affordable three-dimensional (3D) modeling and rendering software as used to create photo-realistic images of space subjects. The hardware models in these images--spacecraft, booster rockets, interplanetary probes, and so on--are realistic extrapolations of designs not so very different from vehicles that actually flew. You won’t find any physically unlikely "fantasy" spacecraft here. Most of these images feature the hardware in a prominent role-they’re not just extraterrestrial scenery.

Here just a few of the works that available for viewing on his website.

Note: All artwork and images copyright © Terry L. Sunday. Please do not use images without the permission of the artist.

Link: Terry L. Sunday Digital Space Art

How Man Will Explore the Moon

How We Will Explore The Moon (Mechanix Illustrated. Jun, 1959): Earthmen who land on the moon will need a special lunar vehicle for exploration. The vehicle must be self-sustaining and capable of traversing both the smooth, dust-paved crater beds and climbing the steep rocky passes of their mountainous rims...

Scans: How We Will Explore The Moon

Space in the 1980s and 1990s

Illustrated history: Space Stations and Manned Spaceflight in the 1980s and 1990s