NASA-inspired “Space 1999” Spacecraft Designs

If you have never seen “Space 1999”, we suggest you check it out immediately before reading on. For those of you who have, let’s explore the logic behind some of his spacecraft designs.

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How are spacecraft designed?

Before we even begin to attempt to give a brief overview of this huge topic, it is useful to actually define what the term “spacecraft” actually means.

According to NASA, a spacecraft is “a vehicle or device designed to travel or operate outside the Earth’s atmosphere.”

This can include anything from a manned or unmanned aircraft, to the Space Shuttle, to nano-satellites.

The design of a spacecraft is guided by the intended purpose of the aircraft once built. For example, will the spacecraft travel to low Earth orbit or to the Moon? How will it get there? With your own power or by carrying a launch vehicle like a rocket on your shoulders? Once in space, how will it be powered? If there are, how many people will you transport and for how long? Will it stay out of the Earth’s atmosphere for a long period of time? How much and what payload will it carry? What scientific tools will it need?

These are just some of the key questions that will influence the design of a spacecraft. However, typically most spacecraft projects will have some key subsystems that need to be considered.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Superstructure
• Control systems
• Telemetry, tracking and command systems
• Communication systems
• Life support systems
• Power systems
• Thermal control
• Propulsion

Once a mission plan is in place and goals are set, engineers from various disciplines will get to work to ensure that the vessel can meet the plan’s requirements.

This will include considerations on:

• Astronautics
• Aerodynamics (if applicable)
• Systems engineering
• Communications engineering
• computer engineering
• Software engineering
• Electrical engineer
• Control theory
• Thermal engineering
• Propulsion engineering
• Mechanical engineer

To name but a few.

As the types and designs of spacecraft vary widely, it is not possible to provide a one-size-fits-all explanation of how they are designed. That said, here’s a nice overview of Northrop Grumman’s satellite design.

What are the different types of spacecraft?

As you probably have already guessed, there are different types of spacecraft.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Manned spacecraft – Otherwise known as spaceplanes, such as the now retired Space Shuttle.
• Semi-crewed spacecraft – Include things like space stations or parts of space stations (aka. Modules)
• Flyby spaceship – These means provide the initial reconnaissance phase of the exploration of the solar system. Examples include the Mariner and Pioneer missions.
• Orbiter spaceship – These types of spacecraft are designed to travel to a distant planet and enter a stable orbit around it. Examples include Mars Global Surveyor, Magellan Venus Orbiter, etc.
• Atmospheric spaceship – These spacecraft are designed for relatively short “suicide” missions in the atmosphere of distant planets. Examples include Gallileo Atmospheric Probe and Pioneer 13.

• Lander spacecraft – As the name suggests, these spacecraft are specially designed to actually land on distant planets and moons, etc. Examples include the Viking Mars Lander and Surveyor Moon Lander.
• Rover spacecraft – Usually electrically powered, these spacecraft are designed to land and explore distant worlds. Examples include the Mars Rover.
• Indenter spacecraft – These vehicles are designed to enter the surface of a body, such as a comet, and survive long enough to make measurements and send data to Earth. Examples include the Deep Impact mission.
• Observatory spacecraft – These aircraft are designed to observe worlds and bodies far from the safety of Earth’s orbit. Examples include the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
• Communications spacecraft – By far the most common, communications spacecraft mostly comprise satellites orbiting the Earth.

There are also a number of canceled and under development spacecraft. Some of the more notable erased types include multistage space planes such as the Soviet Spiral Shuttle or ESA’s Shuttle Hermes.

Notable in spacecraft development includes Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser (an orbital space plane), Blue Origin’s New Shepard, and SpaceX’s spaceship.

What is “Space 1999”?

If you’ve never heard of “Space 1999”, or are planning to see it, a surprise awaits you. It was a British science fiction series created in the 1970s by the greats Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (famous for Thunderbirds).

Building on the success of their puppet-based creations in the 1960s, “Space 1999” involved real-life actors and various models and props to create an engaging and thoroughly entertaining science fiction television series.

It first aired in 1975 and included guest stars such as Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ian McShane, Leo McKern, Patrick Troughton and, believe it or not, Brian Blessed.

The series follows the trials and tribulations of the “Moonbase Alpha” crew after a massive nuclear explosion threw the Moon out of Earth’s orbit and into deep space. It received mixed reviews from critics and audiences and only ran for two seasons before being canceled.

There is currently talk of restarting the series in the not too distant future with the title “Space 2099”, but production has yet to begin.

How do “Space 1999” spacecraft designs stand up to real spacecraft?

The “Space 1999” TV series had a variety of now iconic designs for spacecraft. But while the series is completely fantasy, some real-world considerations have been incorporated into their design.

The most famous spacecraft, “The Eagle Transporter”, for example, could probably pass as a real spacecraft today. And for good reason.

The model was designed by Brian Johnson, special effects supervisor on the set of “Space 1999”. In an interview with The Den of Geek in 2009, Gerry Anderson explained how design was born.

“I talked to Brian and told him how I saw him, and he walked away and came back with something completely, completely different, since it didn’t look like a rocket, a vehicle, a car or anything. ” , Anderson explained.

“Because it was designed to move in space, it didn’t have to be aerodynamic, so it didn’t make sense to carry all the extra weight of a fuselage.”

This spacecraft certainly looks plausible and has been very popular with fans of the series. In fact, according to Gerry Anderson, the toy model sold very well.

Many of the other ships in the series also appear to have been inspired by real spacecraft. The series was made at a time when the Apollo program was still a very recent event.

For this reason, you can see the influence of NASA engineering designs from the 1960s and 1970s incorporated into some of the “Space 1999” spaceships.

Another iconic spacecraft in the series was the “Moon Mobile”. A cross between a tank and a truck, these were the main surface transport vehicles for the crew of “Moonbase Alpha”.

Designed by Mike Trim, these vehicles were designed in part from his previous work on other Gerry Anderson productions and hints of their capabilities from the script.

“When I came to design the UFO Phones, the scripts said they were small and monitored and I remembered Joe 90 design it and update it, “Trim said in an interview.

“I knew they were supposed to be kind of amphibious and able to drive on any kind of terrain. I remember Derek had a metallic blue car at the time and it was a very light blue color and it looked right for the color of the cellphones . “

Trim was also responsible for another spacecraft project called the “Moonbase Interceptor”. Also known as SHADO Interceptor, they were supposed to be the main defense systems for “Moonbase Alpha”.

According to the series, each was a small single-seat spaceship that was unable to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, despite appearing to have a tailplane. The interceptors were also equipped with a self-destructing nuclear missile.

Many of the other spacecraft, aside from the alien ships, followed a similar design concept to the ships already mentioned. In part inspired by NASA and in part by the demands of the series’ plot, their design process was somewhat similar to today’s real spacecraft.

Of course, the designers were really only interested in their outward appearance and didn’t need to get into the core of many of their subsystems or have systems that actually work.

If we have piqued your interest in the classic science fiction series “Space 1999”, you can check it out on Amazon or get yourself a DVD set.

Who knows, could it become your next favorite TV series of all time?

To enjoy.