Hard SF Feature 02: Drell-7

Next up: The-Throne-of-Saturn by Thomas-Peters



This image is remarkable for several reasons. Tom’s modeling is of course spectacular, and his in depth knowledge and research really shows. Not only is this a technically superb illustration of the Argosy Mars mission spacecraft based on NASA's Reusable Nuclear Shuttle, Tom included the NASA Space Tug, both of which are appropriate to be shown in the same context because they were part of an overall program, envisioned as part of NASA’s Integrated Program Plan. The space station is the Langley Research Center Self-Deploying Space Station.

The early Space Shuttle in the image is the North American Orbiter which would have been lofted atop a fully reusable manned “Flyback” booster, equipped with wings and jet engines to return it to the launch site. This would have been a very expensive vehicle to develop – but it certainly did not lack the coolness factor. And it would have been enormous. To quote Scott Lowther, from his blog post on the vehicle, here, “The flyback booster is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way from nose to tail of a 747, but that’s just peanuts to flyback boosters.”

Be sure to go take a look at the rest of Tom’s Argosy Mars mission series, highlights here:



Tom Peters has been an influence and an inspiration for me personally; his superb illustrations of real-world concept spacecraft are some of the finest to be found, and his skill and knowledge, and research ethic, make him one of the great Hard SF artists.

So, even if you have looked, commented, and faved these works, I encourage you to look and perhaps comment again.