I was struggling a bit with a colour scheme for the main rocket – how to do something period, that fits with the orange and black shuttle?
Here’s how it’s coming along.
Continue reading “More work on the 1958 Lockheed shuttle design”
Category: spacecraft
1958 Space Shuttle design
Not a lot of info on this one, it may be quick!
Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellite
That was quick!
Surfaced the Magnetospheric Multiscale Satellite, and put it in front of my Earth model.
The NASA object is downloadable here:
http://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/detail/mms
And you can find out more about the mission here:
http://www.nasa.gov/content/the-magnetospheric-multiscale
Two different images of Vulkan launching.
Two different renders of my Vulkan superheavy Soviet rocket taking off. The first has no recovery packs on the boosters, the second one does have the parachute packs.
These were NOT included on the designs for the Vulkan, but as they were added to Energia and Energia M I think it reasonable speculation to include them.
This version has the largest payload faring considered.
The Vulkan was not built but was downsized into the energia family.
Continue reading “Two different images of Vulkan launching.”
Magnetospheric MultiScale satellite
Quickie project, based on the file downloaded from the NASA 3d object library. This basically comes dow to resurfacing, and setting up a scene or two!
This NASA satellite studies the magnetic field of Earth in high orbit.
First renders of the new project, Zenit 2 rocket
I always enjoy this stage of a project, when it developes really fast, and every render looks better than the last!
This is the Soviet / Russian ZENIT rocket. It’s part of the energia family, and developed from the boosters used to lift that monster into the sky.
Out of the darkness, and into the light, final.
A collaboration with Ali Ries.
I was very interested when fellow IAAA member Ali Ries offered me the chance to use some of her glorious nebula backgrounds. I’m not very good at using strong colour, and this seemed like an excellent chance to get some practice in.
(You can see her work at Deviant Art).
I found a nice starship in the file libraries at Foundation 3D, and set about it.
I used a yellow distant light for the key light, matching the colour of the bright star. In exactly the same position I had a red dome light – dome lights are extended sources, (often a whole hemisphere), my idea was that the red light would produce a subtle warm edge to the shadow borders.
I experimented with a blue fill light, for added colour, but without a blue light source onscreen, it did not look right.
After experimenting with a warmer tone for the side light, I decided to go for some very small limited range point lights, acting like running lights on the ship. I struggled to choose between blue and red, but in the end I decided to do both!
Here are the results:
In case you are wondering, I got the title from a misremembered Hawkwind lyric – I liked the idea of a starship once again receiving the light of a Sun after an incredibly long journey.
As usual, all my bits were done in Lightwave 3d.
The Energia rocket family – Vulkan
The Energia rocket was part of a family, apart from Buran and Polyus, no other versions flew. Energia-M was a cut down version, which got as far as a weight model – the colours and shape of my mesh are based on this.
But the original plan was to include a MUCH heavier rocket, the VULKAN.
This would have had eight of the boosters, and a second core stage that was basically an Energia-M.
I am working on this at the moment, though information is limited. The parachute packs on the boosters came after the Vulkan was cut down to become Energia, but I have done a version which includes these packs on the boosters. Seems VERY likely to me as the engines were designed to be reusable.
The boosters later underwent separate development, and evolved into the highly successful “Zenit”.
Render of Daedalus by Graham Gazzard
My good friend Graham Gazzard has done some renders of my Daedalus mesh, and the results are really impressive, as I think you can see!
Some day I hope to get the hang of the ‘firework smoke in space’ look.
Nick
Daedalus Update
Two new images showing the BIS Daedalus interstellar design. These will be used in a book by Michael Carroll, to be published later this year.
One image shows the immense size of the unmanned craft, with the two stages separated, and a Saturn V rocket beside it for comparison. This is in the header.
The second shows the whole thing assembled, below, against a backdrop of stars. Click for a larger view.
