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Description

Artwork created for David S.F. Portree's article A New Step in Spaceflight Evolution: To Mars by Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode (1966).

The entire series of images, 10 in all for this article, are available in my Real Designs gallery.

Join me on Patreon and the full resolution artwork along with extra art not published in the article, and a large collection of other artworks, can be yours for just dollars a month. Learn more about becoming a patron here William Black on Patreon.

David selected a slightly different set of images for the orbiter separation sequence in the article, here I've included most of the images rendered for this mission event.

Sixty days from Mars: two (out of a total crew of four) astronauts transfer to the Orbiter. After exhaustive systems checks, they fire explosive bolts to cast off the two-part "spacer" linking their spacecraft and the drum-shaped Flyby Spacecraft. A docking mechanism retracts, then small thrusters push the two spacecraft apart.

The Orbiter backs away from the Flyby Spacecraft. The two astronauts on the Flyby Spacecraft inspect the Orbiter's exterior and televise its departure to Mission Control on Earth.
Using its Apollo-type thruster quads, the Orbiter turns away from the Flyby Spacecraft, positioning itself for the separation burn that will cause it to reach Mars 16 days ahead of the Flyby Spacecraft. Visible on both are engines based on the Apollo Lunar Module descent engine design. The four engines on the Flyby Spacecraft are part of the Earth Return Module (ERM) braking stage. The ERM, an Apollo CM with seating for four astronauts, is linked by its nose-mounted docking unit to the aft deck of the Flyby Spacecraft Mission Module. Life support gas and liquid tanks supplying the Mission Module surround the CM; these act as radiation shielding, allowing the CM to serve double-duty as a solar storm shelter. The EVA airlock on the Orbiter Module is one level below the crew-deck, accessed by a tunnel, it is mostly surrounded by a liquid hydrogen tank. In the event of a solar proton storm the crew would rotate the spacecraft placing the thickest mass of liquid hydrogen between the airlock and the sun, allowing the crew to shelter in the airlock and its access tunnel for the duration of a solar storm event.

Description

Artwork created for David S.F. Portree's article A New Step in Spaceflight Evolution: To Mars by Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode (1966).

The entire series of images, 10 in all for this article, are available in my Real Designs gallery.

Join me on Patreon and the full resolution artwork along with extra art not published in the article, and a large collection of other artworks, can be yours for just dollars a month. Learn more about becoming a patron here William Black on Patreon.

David selected a slightly different set of images for the orbiter separation sequence in the article, here I've included most of the images rendered for this mission event.

Sixty days from Mars: two (out of a total crew of four) astronauts transfer to the Orbiter. After exhaustive systems checks, they fire explosive bolts to cast off the two-part "spacer" linking their spacecraft and the drum-shaped Flyby Spacecraft. A docking mechanism retracts, then small thrusters push the two spacecraft apart.

The Orbiter backs away from the Flyby Spacecraft. The two astronauts on the Flyby Spacecraft inspect the Orbiter's exterior and televise its departure to Mission Control on Earth.
Using its Apollo-type thruster quads, the Orbiter turns away from the Flyby Spacecraft, positioning itself for the separation burn that will cause it to reach Mars 16 days ahead of the Flyby Spacecraft. Visible on both are engines based on the Apollo Lunar Module descent engine design. The four engines on the Flyby Spacecraft are part of the Earth Return Module (ERM) braking stage. The ERM, an Apollo CM with seating for four astronauts, is linked by its nose-mounted docking unit to the aft deck of the Flyby Spacecraft Mission Module. Life support gas and liquid tanks supplying the Mission Module surround the CM; these act as radiation shielding, allowing the CM to serve double-duty as a solar storm shelter. The EVA airlock on the Orbiter Module is one level below the crew-deck, accessed by a tunnel, it is mostly surrounded by a liquid hydrogen tank. In the event of a solar proton storm the crew would rotate the spacecraft placing the thickest mass of liquid hydrogen between the airlock and the sun, allowing the crew to shelter in the airlock and its access tunnel for the duration of a solar storm event.