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Description
It's pretty clear, looking at the many websites dedicated to it, that the Eagle Transporter is a design that is very important to a lot of people. Some would go as far to say it is one of the greatest spacecraft ever designed and it is a testament to Brian Johnson and his team that it has endured so long. With the slow, but i'm assured, still ongoing processes of bringing Space 1999 (now 2099) back to the small screen, there lies the question, will the Eagle be given an overhaul?

I have seen a lot of alternate Eagle concepts such as the proposed 2010 movie design and the early preproduction posters for the upcoming show and these have been met with contempt amongst a lot of fans. It's pretty clear that many people wont accept anything less than the unaltered original.

Though I am very open to change and would love to see more Eagle redesigns out there, I too have a soft spot for the design and wouldn't really change much. That said I figured I'd give it a radical overhaul anyway (for the lols, and for a small upcoming project). Instead of re-designing the craft I dialled it back a couple of years instead, essentially creating a "prototype version". This version replaces much of what we know with current N.A.S.A tech and addresses some of the problems that designers have talked about when discussing the Eagle ( Fuel storage, cockpit space, atmospheric flight etc.)

This prototype was developed during the construction of Moonbase Alpha, specifically to ferry materials from the Space-Dock to the Moon and replace the inefficient "Lander" fleet. It is designed only for Space and Lunar travel and cannot re-enter Earth atmosphere. The command module is larger but is the only pressurised area of the craft. At the back is only 3 boosters compared to the normal 4 (a nod to Mike Noble's comic designs). The fuel and a series of vertical boosters are located at the fore and aft of the cargo section. The 8 main batteries which power the crafts electronics are located on the command module and can easily be swapped and recharged.

These first Eagles where probably mostly cannibalised when developing the current model. You can view the first test flights of the 2nd generation Eagle here [link] .

As a quick note, I have never really let science elements in design bother me too much, while the Eagle probably wouldn't work in reality in quite the way the show intended, that dosn't take away from how great a design it is (after all its a show about the moon visiting other planets) my favourite designers tred the line between the fantastical and the realistic in order to create something thats exciting but believable. The more realistic approach in this case was more for a bit of fun.

So What do you think? Did I do her justice? Are you on your way to kill me in my sleep?

Made with:
Research
Moon dust
The tears of Unicorns
The last Lock of Patrick Stewarts hair
Effort
Vue 10
Photoshop
A Sketchpad.

Description
It's pretty clear, looking at the many websites dedicated to it, that the Eagle Transporter is a design that is very important to a lot of people. Some would go as far to say it is one of the greatest spacecraft ever designed and it is a testament to Brian Johnson and his team that it has endured so long. With the slow, but i'm assured, still ongoing processes of bringing Space 1999 (now 2099) back to the small screen, there lies the question, will the Eagle be given an overhaul?

I have seen a lot of alternate Eagle concepts such as the proposed 2010 movie design and the early preproduction posters for the upcoming show and these have been met with contempt amongst a lot of fans. It's pretty clear that many people wont accept anything less than the unaltered original.

Though I am very open to change and would love to see more Eagle redesigns out there, I too have a soft spot for the design and wouldn't really change much. That said I figured I'd give it a radical overhaul anyway (for the lols, and for a small upcoming project). Instead of re-designing the craft I dialled it back a couple of years instead, essentially creating a "prototype version". This version replaces much of what we know with current N.A.S.A tech and addresses some of the problems that designers have talked about when discussing the Eagle ( Fuel storage, cockpit space, atmospheric flight etc.)

This prototype was developed during the construction of Moonbase Alpha, specifically to ferry materials from the Space-Dock to the Moon and replace the inefficient "Lander" fleet. It is designed only for Space and Lunar travel and cannot re-enter Earth atmosphere. The command module is larger but is the only pressurised area of the craft. At the back is only 3 boosters compared to the normal 4 (a nod to Mike Noble's comic designs). The fuel and a series of vertical boosters are located at the fore and aft of the cargo section. The 8 main batteries which power the crafts electronics are located on the command module and can easily be swapped and recharged.

These first Eagles where probably mostly cannibalised when developing the current model. You can view the first test flights of the 2nd generation Eagle here [link] .

As a quick note, I have never really let science elements in design bother me too much, while the Eagle probably wouldn't work in reality in quite the way the show intended, that dosn't take away from how great a design it is (after all its a show about the moon visiting other planets) my favourite designers tred the line between the fantastical and the realistic in order to create something thats exciting but believable. The more realistic approach in this case was more for a bit of fun.

So What do you think? Did I do her justice? Are you on your way to kill me in my sleep?

Made with:
Research
Moon dust
The tears of Unicorns
The last Lock of Patrick Stewarts hair
Effort
Vue 10
Photoshop
A Sketchpad.