deviantART: Popular Head Space

Head full of Space -WIP-

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:15:46 PST

You guys ask a lot to see WIPs and in progress things. Well technically this isn't a progress screenshot, I was experimenting with a piece and I thought it looked really cool, but isn't the route I'm taking the drawing down (because it's frankly not relevant to the meaning or story of the picture) I was just having fun playing around and I love the way it turned out and wanted to share

To make this effect:
I used a starscape photograph (with thanks to STScI [link]) and placed it over the drawing I already sketched and shaded, I then set the layer mode to multiply and set opacity to 30%, I then duplicated that layer and changed the layer mode to Screen. I did it in SAI, but almost any digital art program it'll work for. Feel free to try it yourself! I'd love to see your results

Yeah, as this isn't working WIP crits arn't rquested thanks as the 'real' picture is a different direction and he face already looks much better than it does in this
My brain is exploding with creativity and ideas at the moment, I sketched out 6 ideas the other night, this being one. Just need to focus on finishing one! XD

The cosmos is just so inspiring

If you would like to see any tutorials from me please vote or comment on my new poll: [link]

YOU GUYS ARE SO SUPER AWESOME AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL

Featured finished artwork:

Head Space: 3

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 02:34:15 PST

nothing says i love you like blinding light flashing out of all of your facial orifices!

this might be the only meme based head space comic you'll see... maybe :3

edit: for reference the meme i'm mentioning is this one [link]

PREV: [link]

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Space Dock I-06

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:12:28 PDT

[See project showcase on Behance Network here: [link]]

The Space Dock I-06. Continuation of my "space ______" series. More scenes coming soon.

The artificial intelligence unit in the far back was inspired from Mass Effect 2's EDI . Quite hard to render though, since I latticed a Poser head model, tripling its polygon count.

Hope you like it... DOWNLOAD for full-quality, its not crisp as it really is here. A wallpaper might come soon.

3DS Max 10 + Poser 8

EDIT: This is my first DD. Wow. I thank to you people who viewed/faved and enjoyed this piece, more to come soon!

Space Vagabonds: Psi Ops

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:26:28 PST

Done for Space Vagabonds [ [link] ] © Gregor Theado 2009

Once in a while you get those crazy passionate clients that actually have vision and know what they want. Gregor is certainly one of them and it was a blast doing these characters and mechanicals for his RPG universe.

This would be the Psionics Officer from the Colonial Defence Squadron. They are basically zero G trained rapid response/SWAT teams.

She's kinda the 'special quiet one' that no one talks to for fear of having their brains spew from their eye sockets. I drew inspiration from plenty of Guyver for her.. and imagery of ninja obviously, most notably in the head wrap.

The rest of the details of her psionic alloy blades are in the image. She's my second favourite next to the Assaulter

Beauty of Space

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:26:07 PDT

Another space art but I hope this one would be worth it! There was like some inspiration left in my head! Anyway, I made it in like 6 hours and really hope you like it

[link] [link] [link]

And some other textures of mine

Original resolution=4000×2500
download for:

1024×640
1280×800
1440×900
1600×1000
1920×1200

You like, you fav!

Head Space: 4

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:02:40 PST

isaac faces his first infector and also kendra's a meanie D:

PREV: [link]

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Head Space: 6

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:33:02 PDT

-AAAAAAAAAAAISAACISAVERYGOODENGINEERAAAAAAAAAA-

PREV: [link]

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Babe of the Space Age

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:58:18 PDT

Commissions: [link]

I spy Vanessa Lake as a Babe of the Space Age.

Model:
Ref: [link]

Commissions: [link]

Head Space: 5

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:11:02 PST

isaac gets geared up in the item store : D

PREV: [link]

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Head-on

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 08:31:23 PDT

Head-on engagement...

One last smoke in space..

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:05:50 PDT

Hi !

Here's a new piece I've been painting on and off for a while, just for fun.
I wanted to paint a "sci-fi-space-explorer-girl-in-space/another planet", and this is what came out.
I was intending on refining it quite a bit further, but at this point I want to move on to something else.

I know the image itself doesn't seem to make sense and it's a bit abstract, but I just went with it, and I hope you do as well!

Cheers

EDIT: Ok people are still confused even though I told that the image is a bit abstract. Here's my idea for it: The girl is IMAGINING to be smoking. She loves to smoke but she can't. This isn't real, hence the fishes and so forth. It's just an idea. She would love to be there, smoking one last cigar in the warm sun... but she can't. This is sort of a dream

Lost In Space

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 04:17:38 PDT

This piece pretty much reflects one of the reasons why I think music plays a big part in my life; it takes me to another place, universe, space and time, I did this piece while doing exactly that for a full 2 hours, I was lost somewhere and it was nice.

*Note*
I've submitted a reworked version of this here [link] since many people commented about the 5 colors limit and that this might not be accepted. (thanx for everyone that gave me a heads up about this issue!)

And my apologies if I fail to comment/ check out everyone's entries back because there are just soooooo many and I barely have enough time to check em all out properly. But thank you for all the support so far & so forth!

Birth of Space 5 Creation

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:46:26 PST

EDIT: Yeeeeeessss... Yet another update. O_o Now you guys know I really am a gemini, one who undergoes a split personality problem from time to time. O_____O

In any account, I reintroduced the bright colors I initially had. It flows better with the rest of the series. That was one of my major concerns about my BOS series. Each image has to stand its own ground, but also feel like it's part of a larger picture.

There was also another thing I wanted to do in these revisions and that was introduce organic textures. I really wanted the figure to blend and flow into the background, creating an unclear, blurry vision that implied motion and liveliness, while also implying this inability to tell forground from background, as if the figure was lost and integrated with the environment. Granted, when I started this series, it was about applying a Matisse-like, abstract technique, one in which I played color against color. And it was also about patterns that evoked the same spiritual reaction you would see in an Islamic architecture. But this series has always demanded organic flow too. Pure geometric shapes can only do so much. So yeah, I wanted to include something organic, which would also act as a visual cue that tied each BOS image to each other.

(from previous post)
No mas! No maaaaaaaas! Okay, I give. I give! My head is hurting. I can't stare at this pic any longer! I know I need to add more detail but... NO MAS. I'm behind in my Junior Capstone class because I took too long on this. And yeah, I'm still working with the mouse. I plan on spending my Thanksgiving break practicing on the tablet my friend let me borrow. I'm just not comfortable with it right now and I don't want to waste time trying to color one of these pictures.

I'll definitely come back to this and add in more detail but, for now, I'm turning this over due to time constraints. It kinda sucks since I really wanted this to be good enough to garner some attention here in DA. I know I still need work in my craft, but I'm getting better. Even more, this work is all my original stuff, not something fanart related.

Speaking of original, this is Seth, for those who don't know. Seth is my original character. Seth is bigendered too, which is cool because my Birth of Space series deals with the relationship between man/woman with regards to creation. In this image, Seth is pregnant and is expecting to give birth to the Universe any time soon. So please, someone grab Seth a glass of water and tell her to calm down since she's freaking out.

Seth:

Space 1889 Conspiracy of Silence - Cover

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:13:28 PDT

I have only just started to work on Steampunk style images and I think I have the basic rules of it down.
Rule #1 If it doesn't have cogs on it already add cogs.
Rule #2 If it already has cogs... Add more cogs.
Rule #3 EVRYTHING allways needs more cogs.
Rule #4 Add more airships... And cogs

That's about right, right?

Anyway this is my first cover art for the Space 1889 series, its for the book called Conspiracy of Silence and it's pretty sweet especially if you like your Streampunk and space adventures.
Head over to the FB page to get more details: [link]

Space Pinup

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:21:36 PDT

for the DAC: Space Theme Challenge. This was really fun and I think it came out really well if I do say so myself.

Any comments or critiques more than welcome!!

*Edit*

Did quite a few changes ~MicroBear pointed out. I redrew and re-inked it, there were too many things I overlooked,

I also made it look like it's more of a bubble around her head thanks for the suggestion *me-jane

Thanks guys!

space head

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:50:08 PDT

Paint tool SAI, PS7

warm up painting~

Dragon head 2

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:23:35 PST

Space

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 06:49:37 PDT

This piece is about the effect that space and clutter have on the psyche. A cluttered desk and crowded mind can spawn distractions like a hydra growing heads.
Space is good.

For more wallpaper resolutions, including dual monitor sizes, visit my website [link]

Chaos space Marine Oblitterator in color

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:06:42 PST

I changed the head, I realized I didn't quite like the old head.
Color version.
Oblitterator, chaos space marines, Empyrean Guard legion.

Cheers

Welcome to Outer Space

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:05:24 PDT

*********** Yaya on Facebook [link] ***********

More photo collaborations with Benny Lee of Emanon Designs!

Retro Space Girl costume designed and made by me, also modeled by me

Photography and post-processing by Benny Lee

Benny did such an amazing job with creating the outer space environment for this shoot. I am really blown away!

Costume construction notes: The idea of doing a space girl has been floating in my head for a while before I made this costume. I love old sci-fi movies ala The Day The Earth Stood Still and Barbarella. For my ode to retro futura, I drafted up a bodysuit and made it out silver PVC vinyl. It's fully lined in a comfortable stretch material, and I added pink trim all around the edges and keyhole. I also made my own trim by stretching spandex over batting - yay puffy retro futuristic trim!
The belt, arm warmers and leg warmers were the finishing touches. I lost my cute pink boots from the original shoot, or I would have used them over the flimsy leg warmers. I'm considering getting more vinyl and making boot covers. The wig was bought locally and I poofed up the back for a beehive look. The headset came from Target and I used a nerf gun which I painted pink and silver to match.

More photos and info on the costume can be found on my website: [link]

More photos of this costume:

Space Girl Pin-up

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:07:36 PDT

Chelonia in space

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 12:39:22 PDT

bwaha it's a SPACE TURTAL (some website said that Chelonia is the latin name for the turtle family or something, and I believed it) which I've spent A MILLENIA doing because I never really found the inspiration after I finished the head..heh. Butanyways, it was HUGE so I made it into a wallpaper. ENJOY!

Photoshop, Idon'tknowhowlong

(oh and I kudos to Vicar for helping me come up with the idea or something )

How to draw a head in profile

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:08:38 PST

How to draw a head in profile (Lord Shadowblade style!) I hope you guys like this. I think the proportions are fine, maybe the relationship between the ear, bottom of the nose and lips (and chin may be a little off) but it'd just be more elongated which can be fixed easily. I've just found that drawing a circle first helps a lot to keep the facial profile stuff right. So there you go! (Ignore the random sketches, they have nothing to do with the drawing of the profile heads!)

1. First, draw a circle and then cut it into quarters like shown above. The horizontal line is your eyebrow and top-of-the-ear line and the vertical line also seperates the ear from the rest of the face.

2. Draw the (whatever that's called, the part of the jaw that bends sharply and comes out towards the chin) and draw a straight line down from the front of the face.

3. Draw an ear. This will help you with the other lines. Make sure it's big. Or else everything else will have to be small. At the bottom of the ear, draw a horizontal line to the front of the face. The will be your nose line. Now, see that space between the lines? That's how long your nose is! That's why the ear needs to be big. Then, where the jaw curves sharply, draw a horizontal line from that point to the front of the face.

4. Draw the nose first (then you'll know how much space to put between that and the eye) then draw your eyebrows and eyes. On the horizontal line coming from the jaw, draw your lip line then draw the lines of the lips.

5. Draw the hair lines (unless of course the person you are drawing is bald ) and finish up the basic features of the face.

6. (This is the best part!) Shade and add all the rest of the details that you like! Yeah! We're done!

I hope that wasn't too boring. If this helps improve anyone's artwork then it's served it's purpose. Or is found entertaining. I can go with that one too.

Hey! Idea! I challenge the people who see this to try this out and then send me a link so I can see it too! Whoop!

Pyramid Head Speed Paint

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:35:30 PST

So here is the 10000 pageview contest winner picture. chose the terrifying man of geometry, Pyramid Head of Silent Hill fame, as his favorite movie monster.
This was a speed paint done in 2 nights about an hour each night. 1st night was laying down basic color,composition,and form. 2nd night was laying in some details

I had fun with this one and took it as an opportunity to try something different. Hope you like it

EDIT: I will post up here a reply I made to SAGG:
"I chose composition over accuracy. I am sure I will be raked through the coals. The size of that sword I would have had to leave alot of dead space on the right to fit it in.
I apologize to the purist, please be gentle "

Cheers
Grimbro

Space Wolf

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:58:09 PDT

Quick-ish ArtRage Painting. Un-clever title. XD Couldn't get the song "Space Man" by Babylon Zoo outta my head the whole time...

Ultimate Space Brush Pack - Part 1

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:31:56 PDT

EDIT: I had to split the file in half, since it was too large. This pack contains the stars, nebulae, and galaxies.

Part 2: Click here!

Please click for full, clear veiw!

To cope with the slight case of design block I've been experiencing, I've recently started dabbling in the ever fascinating Space Art, which is loads of fun.

What is not always fun, though, is trying to remember all the gazillions of brush sets you used, finding the correct links, posting them in each deviation, and trying to remember all those rules from all those brush makers that if you don't follow you'll get your head chewed off.

So, I have decided to remedy this situation by making my own Ultimate Space Brush Set! And I said 'Ultimate' for a reason! There are 154 brushes in this set, including stars, planets, galaxies, comets, nebulea, asteroids, and textures. For the beginning space artist, this is your go-to brush pack for making some awesome art! And that's not even the best part.

Wanna know the best part?

It's 100% free!

I mean it! No links, credits, faves, comments, nothing is required, except that you take these and have fun! (Comments and faves are always appreciated of course, and I'd love to see a link to any work you make. Space art never gets old.)

COMPATIBILITY

PaintShop Pro X2+

*jaynedarcy converted these brushes to make them compatible for PaintShop Pro!

Download them: [link]
-----
Photoshop Elements 7.0 +

To install:
Copy (right-click or drag) the abr file into your Photoshop brushes folder (make sure Photoshop is closed when you do this). In Windows Vista, the Brushes folder path is:

Computer > C: drive > Prgram Files > Adobe > Photoshop Elements 8.0 (or whichever version you have) > Presets > Brushes
-----
GIMP 2.6 +

To install:
Copy (right-click or drag) the .abr into your GIMP brushes folder (make sure GIMP is closed while you do this). In Windows Vista, the Brushes folder path is:

Computer > C: drive > Users > Your Computer's Name > .gimp 2.6 (or whatever your version is) > Brushes
-----
Photoshop CS5 +

To install:
Copy (right-click or drag) the .abr file into your Brushes folder (make sure Photoshop is closed when you do this).
-----
All Other Art Programs

You will need to make the brushes yourself. I have uploaded the image pack to make it easier, but I cannot help you make brushes in any program but Photoshop. If you do make a brush set, feel free to upload it to DeviantART or elsewhere giving credit only to yourself and NASA, but please leave a link here so I can add your set to my description.

This is my first brush set, so I really don't have much experience making them. If you have trouble installing or using them, feel free to comment; however, there is a good chance I won't be able to help you.

CREDITS

Most of the images are free domain from NASA

Thanks to my sister, *FaerieBert, for her help throughout the brushmaking process.

Brushes made in Photoshop Elements 8

Thanks for looking!

Orochimaru in Space

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:19:20 PDT

My entry for "Orochimaru in Space" contest.

Orochimaru is the new Ophiuchus (which means the serpent bearer) constellation holding Serpens (Manda) I love those old star maps that have all the constellation figures drawn on them.

interesting trivia about Orphiuchus -
is usually identified as Asclepius the legendary physician known as the god of medicine. He killed a snake, but to his surprise another snake arrived and revived its companion with herbs. This is how Asclepius learned of the medicinal powers of plants. He learned how to revive the dead, which worried Hades the god of the underworld who feared his domain would not rceive any new souls. So he persuaded Zeus to kill Asclepius and decree that all mortals must one day die. Zuse did but to honor his skills he placed him and his snakes in the sky.

Ophiuchus is located south of Hercules and north of Scorpius. It doesnt have any really bright stars so you need a fairly dark sky to be able to see it.

my favorite globular cluster M5 is in Serpens Caput (head of the snake)
*tends to ramble on more then ever when talking about astronomy and constellations*

Star chart from "the Sky" program

TIME AND SPACE

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:53:23 PST

You should listen to this song and watch the video while you're at it: [link]
If that doesn't make you feel like watching Doctor Who I will have to strap you to a chair and make you watch it like I do to my dad (only he falls asleep because it gets dark outside too fast arghhh)
I'M SORRY PORTA ONE LAST THING FOR TONIGHT I SWEAR I'M GOING TO BED NOW

So I was like fff I need to draw more because I've obviously got a lot swirling around in my head today and I'm taking advantage of being able to use my tablet again for a brief time (Just for the week...) but I noticed it's like a school night and I need to sleep.
So I dug through my WIP folder and was like OH YEAH I NEED TO GIVE ROSE SHOES EVEN THOUGH I CAN'T DRAW SHOES.
So I gave her shoes.
Then I was like okay need a background that isn't just orange but SHINY AND AWESOME.
Then oh crap there's a lot of shading to do on this
So I did some of the shading and put some texture on Rose's pants and forgot the rest of the shading because I need to put Chameleon Circuit back on WHOA MASS FAVES FROM PORTA HI THERE AND NOW I'M SUBMITTING IT.

I've had this picture in my documents since like before I started school this year. D: So like, three months.

AND I DON'T HAVE A PROPER PICTURE OF TEN IN MY GALLERY ASIDE FROM HIS FOOT AND A LAME COMIC SO HAHEISHLSTIEHLHGLG he is my faaaaaaavourite.

I sure hope Space channel can broadcast this year's Christmas episode as soon as it can because BBC Canada seems to hate me. Space does too, but less so. XD

WHEN I LEARN HOW TO DRAW MARTHA AND DONNA WITHOUT SCREWING THEM UP COMPLETELY I WILL DO SO. D: PROMISE. XD;

Look forward to fan art of a certain awesome wibbly wobbly timey wimey series in the future-!

HAPO SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TYPE OR MAKE RIDICULOUS ART AFTER 10:00.

I'm wondering if it would throw off the composition if I threw in a tiny little TARDIS? If not, where would I put it...

Rocket Riding Space Panda

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 15:56:53 PST

It's my first post of the year and yes I'm still not in the mood to illustrate anything big. So here is a vector illustration I did for my personal weblog that was done in illustrator. The rocket is actually quite old and I wanted to use it for something else. Looks like that something else ended up to be my little panda riding in space. I made it into a wallpaper and actually have it up on my desktop right now. I re-arranged my icons to go near the bottom of my screen.
My head hurts from all the site designing I've been doing lately which includes making my newest blog Scrambled [link] you can read my journal for more information about that.

Anyways enjoy everyone, I'll try to get something legit up soon XP

in my head, you're a galaxy.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:14:25 PST

_{what i reallllly wanted to call this was:
in my head, you're an entire galaxy

so here's another crazy typographic piece.
i kind of like it. don't tell.

also. this is what it says. just in case:

did you ever notice that the spaces above us look different?
that when you and i first spoke it was a cosmic collision
where the sun started shining three times too bright
and the stars in the sky folded and merged
to form the only constellation i'll ever wish on again
so now when i get lost in the road maps to the sky
the only thing i will ever see is you}

Wheatley in Space

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:53:37 PDT

Wheatley, head honcho at Wheatley Laboratories, in space.
And, credit to the Wheatley Science logo (I just added the stripes): [link]

If you like this, check out my other backgrounds!
ASHPD Background -> [link]
Simply Aperture -> [link]

Space Junk

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:46:15 PDT

Man, that Super mario Galaxy soundtrack is just so catchy! All of it! >:I
This was the one that got highly stuck in my head, and inspired this drawing: [link]

This isn't anything that's part of the storyline. The new NOISULLI bodies are artificial and are like machines. Their memories, thoughts and everything else remain the same, but their old bodies were destroyed by the virus.
I guess this was just some concept with how they would dispose of the artificial bodies since they don't decay and break down. They would be thrown out close to the center of their galaxy towards the black hole in the center, where they would be disposed quickly.
Hence they would be called "Space Junk".

Anyway, enjoy!

Ranul / Ralos / Drawn by (c) =Tuooneo

Space Warrior Queen

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:36:27 PDT

compaired to Samus, all the other defender's of Earth are mearly toy's for her to play with.

sorry but if you havnt saved the galaxy (or atleast a planet) from an alien invasion, Samus wont be very interested in you.

Earth Defender's In Pic:

Spartan 117 (Halo)
Issac Clark (Dead Space)
Space Marine (War Hammer)
Ratchet (Ratchet And Clank)
Goku/Kakarot (Dragon Ball Z)
The Marine (Doom)
Marcus Fenix (Gears Of War)
Shepard (Mass Effect)
Setsuna (Gundam 00)

i would of put in more, but i dont know alot of other character's. but Setsuna is between Samus's leg's. you'll see his leg's sticking out.

although Goku is on a level of power far beyond what Samus could ever achieve, i still thought i'd add him.

the only thing i dont like about this pic is how Samus's head turned out. but i hope you like the rest.

i tryed to do the guy's as tiny chibi's, but it didnt work out so well....

i plan to do more Samus GTS in the future.

i do not own Metroid, DBZ, War Hammer, Doom, Gears Of War, Ratchet And Clank, DeadSpace or Halo.

MLAATR: Space Hooker

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:20:11 PST

Remember that time Sheldon was a space hooker? Remember? No? maybe I just imagined it.

So I've been in an art slump lately and I'm trying to get out of it by painting in different ways ( Though I have to admit my art slump is SOO strong this looks NOTHING like I wanted it to look, in my head it looked like something painted by so like I FAIL)

I drew this after watching "good ol Sheldon" (for the second time, but THIS time in context ) you know, the episode that bastardized the theory of relativity? The one where Sheldon spends 90 years in space trying to make enough money to get back to earth, he sells his spleen? The one that makes me not like Jenny and Sheldon together cause he's suffered far far FAR too much?
the whole hooker thing is in there or I dunno my sister hinted it to me >> Or maybe she meant that Sheldon must've dated some aliens... either way

Heads in Space

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:05:39 PST

Next:

First workshop for #ComicAcademy!

Perspective Character Drawing Tutorial 1: Heads in Space.

The exercise sheet and some example headcharts, I made to go along with this, can be found here:

Gods, this took me way to long. But if it is of help to you guys, it has been worth the effort.

Any comments, help and hints are much appreciated!

Dead Space Tentacle Death

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:54:53 PST

FULL VIEW PLEASE

"In space....no-one can hear you scream"

There! Done! Manga is not going to do another tentacle drawing ever again! It took me almost forever to do the different parts of this picture, as I have better things to do...*Manga heads towards the door*

Maylei: Umm...well, I'm sure Mangamad would end with "Hope you enjoy this work" or something. But he did enjoying adding the last minute alien language though. Enjoy.

Dead Space (c) EA games
Mangamad version (c)

Sketch version: [link]

NOTE UPDATE: Wow...I'm disappointed to those who played the game for not noticing what the Alien language on the wall say. XD
Sept NOTE: I wonder if this will reach "OVER 9000!!" before Dead Space 2 will be released?
Jan 2011 Note: It passed 10K mark! Before the UK release too.

Space twilight

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:08:11 PDT

I took a break from photo editing for a hour and created this, the 2nd installment in the space pony's series! (and yes, I will do the mane 6 and Celestia)

Vector from

Dead Space: Out of Time

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:08:55 PST

Another tormented moment from Dead Space (the version that exists in my head, haha), Isaac saying farewell to a nicer Nicole, maybe the one he remembers instead of the one we see (THAT BITCH GTFO OUT MY SHUTTLE). Hugs for Isaac Clarke, in his iconic back-to-u pose, but full of naked woman instead of monsters and plasma cutter.

Out of time, because look at the Stasis meter.

(Edit: available as a redbubble tshirt,, now you can wear the backwards stasis meter forever and ever and ever )

Head On

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 22:31:54 PDT

Photo:
This one was fun; here's why.
I see Dusty coming straight for me, and I realize that I don't have a head on photo. So I aim and click. Well, when I saw this expression it confused me slightly, until it came to my senses that Janati and Du Shane were on a crash course towards me on my left hand side, hence the reason he is facing that way. I'm so happy my horses respect personal space. o.o;

Loki Zoroark, Rogue of Space

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 06:54:13 PDT

One of my friends suggested making our own Session of Homestuck. I told him if I ever wrote anothing like that that there would be rules and one of them was that they couldn't be humans and none of the pre-existing cast of characters would appear. I decided to go with Pokemon, specifically gijinkas, and it went from there, gradually rolling downhill in a suprisingly complex and clusterf*cked plot.

My characters are a Togekiss named Frig, a Zebstrika named Zeb, and a shiny Zoroark named Loki. created a shiny Tentacruel named Freya for the 4th member.

Loki didn't have any good art yet, so I doodled this the other night while waiting for the HS update [EOA5 AHHH] and worked on it in the late evenings until finally finishing him last night.

I like him a lot. He's a total douche sometimes and specializes in messing with your head by manipulating himself and the environment.

Zoroarks are awesome hnnnng....

Here's some basic info on him. I'm writing the story atm. I hope it to have lots of graphics and whatnot.

BTW, I decided to go with hoodies as a theme instead of hoods. It was just to differentiate the Sessions a little more.

Someone take my Tablet and M-Word away from me. This is what I apparently do in my spare time -w-;;
--

Name: Loki Zoroark
Age: 16
Pokémon: [shiny] Zoroark
Element(s) : WIND-->FIRE
God[s]: ??? -->Loki-->Odin[?]
Gender: Male [M/F]
Height: 510
Title: [Rogue of Time-->] Rogue of Space
Live(s) in: CASTLE in BLACK CITY
Handle: suspiciousTrickster
Typing Style: Types in florescent pink text. Uses chatspeak. Capitalizes B. Types like he has a British accent.
Strife Specibi : BOWKIND/PENKIND
WOC: SKOLLHATI
Special Item: HOWL OF INNOVATION
Moon: Derse
Fetch Modus: PICTIONARY
Relations:
-Genetic Mother/Adoptive Aunt-->NON-MOM
-Genetic Father-->THE OLD MAN
-Genetic Sister-->FREYA
-Genetic Half-Brother-->FOSTER-DAD
Adoptive Step-Uncle--> EX-UNCLE
Planet: Land of Mirrors and Frogs [LOMAF]
Sprite: CHARLATANSPRITE
Cruxite Artifact: HOT AIR BALLOON
Imp: SILVER
Consorts: Sad Crimson Butterflies who Like Whispering
Denizen: Zapdos [?]
Gift(s):
-ZEB-->OKAMI VIDEO GAME
-FREYA-->BOW AND ARROW
-FRIG-->SILVER EARRING
Musical Instrument: GRAND PIANO
INTERESTS: FASHION, ART, PARANORMAL LORE, NATURE, WOLVES, WEALTH, ROLEPLAYING
HATES: POORNESS, LITTERING, BAD DESIGN/ART/FASHION
NOTE[S]: LOKI is God Tier at the start of the game from the previously Scratched Session due to a hack he and ZEB put in place. He recalls pieces of this past-life and it gives him an advantage over the game's typical limitations [such as reaching God Tier twice]. Even before the new Session, he has SEVERE NIGHT TERRORS due to his link with the voices of DERSE and attends THERAPY, which he often dismisses. He's selfish but also considers his friends vitally important and will protect them by keeping them as uninvolved as possible, taking everything upon himself to take care of because he doesn't trust them. He's well-known for his tricks and is gifted with illusions, particularly after ALCHEMIZING the HOWL OF INNOVATION, with which he can physically attack and create illusions on a whim. He's the only one of the TEENS that has the ability to switch gender or to physically manipulate himself.
--

image/character [c] me
Homestuck @ www.mspaintadventures.com [c] andrew hussie
pokemon [c] nintendo

Necromorph Head - dead space

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:32:24 PST

A necromorph, i hate them!!

Too Much Space...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:33:31 PST

This would make a lovely cover for an apology card. It would just say "I'm sorry" inside. Should get the point across.

I was going to do some Portal 2 Blue Sky fanart, but ended up with this instead. After I drew Kevin and Wheatley bobbing around in space, I just couldn't get the thought of Wheatley saying something like this out of my head, so I added it instead. A little Wheatley humor to lighten your day.

Thanks for looking!

Starry Space

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:44:01 PDT

Just in case the large bloody BOOM "sound effect" didn't make it obvious enough, Fox's head exploded. Anyways, saw the dialog on the Smash Wiki, got this idea, and made it into a lazy half-assed comic... Please comment, thank you. ^_^

Kirby, Fox McCloud, Mr.Game & Watch, Krystal, Peppy, and Slippy © Nintendo
Art © *BrokenTeapot

Space Marine Proportions

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 14:01:48 PDT

The bain of my early attempts at drawing Space Marines was that I did not know that what the right proportions were for them. I looked at the work of Karl Kopinski (Look at the picture in the front of the 4th edition rulebook of the Ravenguard making planetfall.) I figured them out. Not only did I work out their proportions, but I also figured out what the right proportions for their weapons are. I will porbably refine this later on. All of the Space Marine pics so far posted by me have been done using these proportions. The key is that you base the proportions off of the Space Marine's head, not his helmet.

Head Space: 8

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:47:02 PDT

isaac get's a little break from the madness~

PREV: [link]

NEXT: coming soon?

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Head Space: 1

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:49:29 PST

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

Hey look Its Space

Mon, 09 May 2011 21:40:24 PDT

Finally drew the Space Core<3

Hes holding a wanna-be astronaut helmet but honestly I think he just found a huge fish bowl and shoved it on his head.

drawing space grand tour

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:47:44 PST

_{This is where the magic happens!

*JaspersAutumn asked me to show my "drawing space". Which I think is a grand title for a bunch of crap piled on my bed.

I have a lovely big double bed, so there's enough space on it for everything I need, and if I need to take a nap, I can shove everything to the other side for a while.
Or crash on the floor.

When I was a little kid, I would never draw at a table. I drew on the floor with my legs crossed, and my sketch pad on my lap. I never grew out of it. I prefer it this way - I can keep the pressure of my pencil strokes perfectly even 'cause I can feel that pressure in my legs.

Yeah, my back and neck may get tired. But the ability to turn your head all the way in each direction is totally overrated. If I need to see something, I'll just get someone to describe it to me in detail.}

From left to right:

_{Drawings by other people, for inspiration: one by *hannah-dora (actually, that was the piece that pushed me into gear and made me start watching Skins, when I'd planned to for years - THAT's how inspired I am) and one by *thenizu. The real deal! She mailed it to me, and I LOVE it. *thrilled beyond measure*
I'm quite impressionable, so it's also important for the works to be a completely different style from what I'm working on, otherwise I may get confused and copy it.

My sketchbook, open at a page that'll remind me what effect I'm aiming for with my current drawing, and that I've successfully pulled it off in the past. If I suddenly forget how to draw, I can just copy my own work.

My 36 Derwent watercolour pencils. I only use them for like 5 little dabs per drawing, but I'd rather have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.

My 72 prismacolor pencils (although the ones I'm using for current work go on the right side of my mechanical pencil divide. Don't wanna get them mixed up.)

Waste paper bin. Oh, look, there's my dead deodorant! How exciting for you guys that you get to see that.
Pencil case. Pencils and erasers and such.
And of course my drawing and the reference photo, on a plain lightweight drawing board grandma gave me about 20 years ago.

Random t-shirt spread out under everything so I don't get pencil shavings stuck in my duvet cover.}

Not pictured:

_{Floor lamp: one of those mega-expensive angle-poise things with tension springs and all that crap. Was dirt-cheap secondhand.

mp4 player: creative zen 16gb, plugged into mains so I don't kill the battery during the session.
A folded up tissue over the drawing.
Scribbled lists of song lyrics that helps me with titles.

Lists of what pencils I've used for what areas, in what order. Otherwise there's no way I'd remember, and my triptychs would look like I'm on crack. I mean, even more so.

I really hate to have to stop and get up to fetch stuff (or worse, look for wherever I left it) while I'm trying to work. So I just surround myself with everything in the world. Except food or drink, 'cause that can get messy.

I bet you were expecting something better. Man, Crimefish is amazing, she must have a desk and throne made of solid gold, with slave boys in loin cloths at hand to adjust her desk lamp for her, and gush over how great the drawing's turning out, and generally act like the sun shines out of her butt.

Well. That shows what you know.}

Space Noodles Concept Updated

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:34:48 PST

Cartoon Network Australia ran a pitch competition a few months ago. This didn't get picked up (because I didn't get my arse around to updating it in time), but it did give me a chance to update this concept at least.

For those who haven't seen the Space Noodles concept before here's the general idea:

Space Noodles is a fun sci-fi themed animated comedy Proposed as a 22 episode kids animated series aimed at 8-12 year olds.

The series follows the adventures of Red. Your typical, average blue haired Australian orphan. Until he accidentally hijacks an alien spaceship while out camping with his orphanage one night and finds himself hurtling across space and smashing through the side of a flying alien space city 1,000,403 light years
from earth.

Unfortunately for Red, he crashes into Gurlocks, the acclaimed 43/4 neutron star restaurant. Owner Barkhyde gives Red two options get minced by the garbage disposal and sucked out into space Red suggests a third (and slightly less
painful) option and begins working off his debt in the restaurant.

Red is thrust into a crazy alien world, full of outrageous and down right insane adventures. Not only does he have to deal with customers of various species,
ranging from fuzzy friendlies to carnivorous hostiles, Red must explore alien planets for the most exotic of ingredients, and to top it all off, try to fit in at his new school!

Will Red ever pay off his debt? Can he survive Barkhyde
without having his head (literally) chewed off? And will he ever learn the secret ingredient for Gurlocks' signature dish, Spurg Noodles? (It doesn't sound tasty, but that doesn't stop aliens from all around the universe queueing up. Emperor Clint'n of 1432 galaxies can down 13 bowls how many can you handle?)

Head Space: 2

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 02:42:03 PST

isaac's first encounter with those accursed slashers! cut off their limbs isaac!

PREV: [link]

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Lost In Space (Reworked)

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 01:38:26 PDT

This piece pretty much reflects one of the reasons why I think music plays a big part in my life; it takes me to another place, universe, space and time, I did this piece while doing exactly that for a full 2 hours, I was lost somewhere and it was nice.

*Note*
This is a reworked, simpler-monochrome version of [link] which I had a lot of people tell me wouldn't be accepted due to the 5 color limit for the competition. (Thanx to everyone that gave me a heads up bout this!)

And my apologies if I fail to comment/ check out everyone's entries back because there are just soooooo many and I barely have enough time to check em all out properly. But thank you for all the support so far & so forth!

Don't Trust the Space Goo

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:13:21 PST

I have no idea! This concept popped into my head. Some deep space facility that finds some sort of reactive black goo and this lone astronaut-scientist type is studying it when it suddenly oozes out of the quarantine room and forms into a female shape. The stuff is intelligent and can tap into your thoughts. So since this scientist is lonely, it forms into a female shape to lower his guard. Will something bad happen to him? Dunno. Anyway, it's this idea that popped into my head. Could be something I play with eventually.

Neo Daikaju-SPACE GYAOS

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:19:40 PDT

Space Gyaos-Space is mine. Stay out of it.

Height: 50-75 meters
Wingspan: 150-160 meters
Mass: 65 tons

Powers/Weapons:
Power vary from one Gyaos to another
Can fire a powerful sonic cutter beam that is capable of splitting buildings in half and causing severe, deep cuts on monsters.
Can create massive, hurricane-like winds by simply flapping his wings.

Story:

The space version of Gyaos, the Space Gyaos existed on the Planet Terra, demolishing the civilization that slowly dwindled in numbers. One such creature began to attack the city when two young boys arrived on the island via space ship, but the creature was attacked by the monstrous Guiron before it could do any real damage. Guiron used its knife like head to reflect the bat's own beam, cutting off its own leg. The winged monster tried to attack from behind, but Guiron leaped into the air, its blade severing Space Gyaos' wing. As the winged creature lay dying, Guiron removed its remaining wing and then its head, killing the bat, the blade headed space monster then began to cut what remained of the body to pieces.

Mecha Jaw in Space

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 08:46:36 PDT

I was never one for titles. xD

This is an art trade with a talented deviant, *leilalilium. She requested a picture of a girl with mechanical parts. She couldn't decide what mechanical parts, so she left it up to me.
So, I decided to CUT HER DAMN JAW OFF AND PUT A MACHINE THERE. At first, it kept looking like she was simply wearing a jaw thing, so I hinted towards some sort of rotting infection where her jaw should be, so that people know it's missing. I got carried away, and it became a picture of a girl who was horribly injured, with only her head (and not even all of it) recovered from her damaged body. It was replaced with machine, and so now she's a mostly-mecha-human bounty hunter, staring off into space and recollecting her thoughts.

I took some advice from =arvalis and made it extra big, and also spent more time than normal with more rendering. I haven't spent 20 hours on it, but I took longer than usual.

I hope you like it!

Oh, and reference here: [link]

Space Whale

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:43:09 PDT

_{whoo I'm on a roll}

The trope also applies to pokemon.

EDIT: Nebulack is officially Normal/ Dark type. God, I love being in charge. >:]

I absolutely love how the glowies came out, especially the head and antenna which are also glossy. :]
Wondering about the weight? Read the manual:

Nebulack can survive in space or on Earth, similar to Cometeor. They travel in large pods at night. Being friendly pokemon, they often light the way through the night for people and other pokemon. Nebulack exerts such an incredibly strong anti-gravitational force that it is physically impossible to weigh. The black hole between the flukes of its tail determine a Nebulack's age- the larger the black hole, the older the Nebulack. Modern physics suggest that the parts eaten by the black hole are part of another dimension, though many debates arise over whether or not these warped parts are still functional and controllable.

Nebulack replaced Icicool, Plotark, Beautaqua, and Humeed as Emnotion's evolution. Quite a jump, no? I myself am not sure how Emnotion evolves to Nebulack... maybe level up with Elgyem or Beheeyem in party? XD

Pokemon © Game Freak, Nebulack and Art © Me.

Head Space: 7

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:14:10 PDT

isaac has a new found fear of tentacles! D:

PREV: [link]

NEXT: [link]

The following comic is a parody of dead space, as an alternate path through the first game we take up the concept that it was possible that everything that occurred on the ishimura was all in isaac's head, and so we follow his delusional adventures to destroy the marker and find his girlfriend : D

and as such this comic may contain content that could be considered as spoilers to the first game.

tread lightly engineers!

isaac and all related characters belong to visceral games

p.s: apparently, these comics go well with the theme: Evangelion OST - "Misato"

Leman Russ - Primarch of the Space Wolves

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:44:03 PST

They could yet win.

Even with the Primarch locked inside his sanctum, for whatever reason, the Thousand Sons could still rout the Wolves and Custodians. Tatumuhz was determined to set an example.

Until now, his vanguard had vanquished all the enemies they came across, including a Wolf Lord and his personal guard. They had cleared key locations for the rest of the Thousand sons to occupy, and were growing in number as they came across more brethren beget by Fenrisians and Custodians. Fifty warriors now marched together, ten of them - Tatumuhz included - psykers. Accompanying them was a hero of the Legion, Khatham, his body now interred in a Dreadnought's iron sarcophagus. They could take on any force invading Prospero.

As the group came across a plaza framed by trees, Tatumuhz spotted on of the giant, shaggy wolves that accompanied the dogs of Russ. This one was massive, easily larger than most of the others he'd slain, but what gave pause toTatumuhz, a veteran of the Raptora, was the being stroking the predator's fur.

It was Fenris.

It's body was the stone-skin of the planet, not the stormcloud grey of the Wolves but the darker tone of the fenrisian peaks at the distance, trimmed with the bluish ore that formed beneath the crust. It carried a bone-sword taken from one of the great Leviathans of the fenrisian deeps, its blade exhuding a fine glacial mist while thunder laced its surface.

On its back it wore a cloak made from the fur of all the wolves from Fenris: every tone of grey, together with black and brown. Across the massive cloak, wolfish and human skulls were visible, and Tatumuhz noticed the human skulls were from Space Wolves. Fenris wore its fallen sons.

Across its armour there were runes, the language of the planet's peoples. Its hair was the pale yellowish orange of Fenris' sun.

Even as he stood frozen in place by the being's majesty, Tatumuhz sensed something was amiss in this divine character.

One of his group whispered the demigod's name, and it all became clear.

"Leman Russ"

The Primarch looked at them like a predator, and Tatumuhz saw the missing element from before: in Russ's eyes burned the molten core of Fenris.

They were not prepared to take on a Primarch, but retreating would be impossible now that the Wolves' genefather was aware of their presence.

With a roar that was the fury of every wolf in Fenris, Russ charged at them.

"Khatham!", Tatumuhz yelled in desperation.

The dreadnought put himself between the Thousand Sons and the raging Primarch, bringing down his power fist.

Without a second of hesitation, Russ rammed his sword into Khatham's close combat weapon. The limb exploded in an instant, throwing the old warrior off-balance. The Wolf Lord seized the opportunity, smashing Khatham's head with a thunderous punch. With the human inside it dead, the dreadnought flayed for a few seconds before dropping to the ground, along with the Thousand Sons' hopes.

Leman Russ climbed on top of the great sarcophagus with a predator's grin, only to be hit by a colossal wave of combined magic. The Primarch disappeared behind the blinding red glow, but any last hope the Thousand Sons magi could've harboured shattered when Russ's sword cut through the crimson torrent. They'd barely managed to set some his fur trophies on fire, making the Primarch appear even more dangerous than before.

In two minutes, Tatumuhz was the only one left alive from his group. He sent a blast of concussive force against Leman Russ. It would've shattered a normal man and it could even stun a marine, but against a demigod, it did little but throw Russ's hair an cloak back.

The Wolf Lord grabbed Tatumuhz by the throat with just enough strength to keep him conscious. The Thousand Son was wondering what would happen next when Russ released his psychic howl to the psyker's face. Tatumuhz's armour's interface went wild, runes flashing nonsensically. His brain seemed to burn with lightning and he lost control of his limbs, spasming in agony. Foam spewed out of his mouth and his eyes filled with blood.

It only got worse when Russ's sword sliced through his armour, leaving his guts hanging, and let Tatumuhz fall to the ground.

He watched through a red tinge and tremendous pain as Fenris walked away from him to hunt his brothers, until a growl made him turn. The gigantic wolf was on top of him, salivating profusely at the spasming warrior. The effects of Russ's howl were as strong as when they started, so Tatumuhz was almost thankful when teeth the size of his hand closed on his insides.

I honestly think this is the best drawing I've ever done. Tell me your thoughts.

Space shuttle Atlantis OV-104

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:37:42 PDT

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010. At launch, it consists of a rust-colored external tank (ET), two white, slender Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the orbiter, a winged spaceplane which is the space shuttle in the narrowest sense.

The orbiter carries astronauts and payload such as satellites or space station parts into low earth orbit, into the Earth's upper atmosphere or thermosphere.[1] Usually, five to seven crew members ride in the orbiter. The payload capacity is 22,700 kilograms (50,000 lb). When the orbiter's mission is complete it fires its Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the lower atmosphere.[1] During the descent, the shuttle orbiter decelerates from hypersonic speed primarily by aerobraking and then for the landing phase it acts as a glider, making a completely unpowered (deadstick) landing.
Contents
[hide]

Description

The Shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft designed for partial reusability. It carries payloads to low Earth orbit, provides crew rotation for the International Space Station (ISS), and performs servicing missions. The orbiter can also recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth. Each Shuttle was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10 years' operational life. The man responsible for the design of the STS was Maxime Faget, who had also overseen the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft designs. The crucial factor in the size and shape of the Shuttle Orbiter was the requirement that it be able to accommodate the largest planned commercial and classified satellites, and have the cross-range recovery range to meet classified USAF missions requirement for a one-around abort for a launch to a polar orbit. Factors involved in opting for 'reusable' solid rockets and an expendable fuel tank included the desire of the Pentagon to obtain a high-capacity payload vehicle for satellite deployment, and the desire of the Nixon administration to reduce the costs of space exploration by developing a spacecraft with reusable components.

Six airworthy shuttles have been built; the first orbiter, Enterprise, was not built for space flight, and was used only for testing purposes. Five space-worthy orbiters were built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch in 1986, and Endeavour was built as a replacement. Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003.

Each Space Shuttle is a partially reusable launch system that is composed of three main assemblies: the reusable Orbiter Vehicle (OV), the expendable external tank (ET), and the two partially-reusable solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The tank and boosters are jettisoned during ascent; only the orbiter goes into orbit. The vehicle is launched vertically like a conventional rocket, and the orbiter glides to a horizontal landing, after which it is refurbished for reuse.

Roger A. Pielke, Jr. has estimated that the Space Shuttle program has cost about US$170 billion (2008 dollars) through early 2008. This works out to an average cost per flight of about US$1.5 billion.[2]

At times, the orbiter itself is referred to as the space shuttle. Technically, this is a misnomer, as the actual "Space Transportation System" (space shuttle) is the combination of the orbiter, the external tank, and the two partially-reusable solid rocket boosters. Combined, these are referred to as the "Stack".

[edit] Orbiter vehicle
Main article: Space Shuttle orbiter

The orbiter resembles an aircraft with double-delta wings, swept 81° at the inner leading edge, and 45° at the outer leading edge. Its vertical stabilizer's leading edge is swept back at a 50° angle. The four elevons, mounted at the trailing edge of the wings, and the rudder/speed brake, attached at the trailing edge of the stabilizer, with the body flap, control the orbiter during descent and landing. The orbiter has a large payload bay measuring 15 by 60 feet (4.6 m × 18 m) comprising most of the fuselage.

Three Space Shuttle main engines (SSMEs) are mounted on the orbiter's aft fuselage in a triangular pattern. The three engines can swivel 10.5 degrees up and down, and 8.5 degrees from side to side during ascent to change the direction of their thrust and steer the shuttle as well as push. The orbiter structure is made primarily from aluminum alloy, although the engine thrust structure is made primarily from titanium (alloy).

[edit] Solid Rocket Boosters
Main article: Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

Two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) each provide 12.5 million newtons (2.8 million lbf) of thrust at liftoff, which is 83% of the total thrust needed for liftoff. The SRBs are jettisoned two minutes after launch at a height of about 45.7 kilometers (150,000 ft), and then deploy parachutes and land in the ocean to be recovered.[3] The SRB cases are made of steel about 1.3 centimeters (0.51 in) thick.[4]

[edit] Flight systems

Early shuttle missions took along the GRiD Compass, arguably one of the first laptop computers. The Compass sold poorly, as it cost at least US$8000, but offered unmatched performance for its weight and size.[5] NASA was one of its main customers.[6]

The shuttle was one of the earliest craft to use a computerized fly-by-wire digital flight control system. This means no mechanical or hydraulic linkages connect the pilot's control stick to the control surfaces or reaction control system thrusters.

A primary concern with digital fly-by-wire systems is reliability. Much research went into the shuttle computer system. The shuttle uses five identical redundant IBM 32-bit general purpose computers (GPCs), model AP-101, constituting a type of embedded system. Four computers run specialized software called the Primary Avionics Software System (PASS). A fifth backup computer runs separate software called the Backup Flight System (BFS). Collectively they are called the Data Processing System (DPS).[7][8]

The design goal of the shuttle's DPS is fail-operational/fail-safe reliability. After a single failure, the shuttle can still continue the mission. After two failures, it can still land safely.

The four general-purpose computers operate essentially in lockstep, checking each other. If one computer fails, the three functioning computers "vote" it out of the system. This isolates it from vehicle control. If a second computer of the three remaining fails, the two functioning computers vote it out. In the rare case of two out of four computers simultaneously failing (a two-two split), one group is picked at random.
Atlantis deploys landing gear before landing on a selected runway just like a common aircraft.

The Backup Flight System (BFS) is separately developed software running on the fifth computer, used only if the entire four-computer primary system fails. The BFS was created because although the four primary computers are hardware redundant, they all run the same software, so a generic software problem could crash all of them. Embedded system avionic software is developed under totally different conditions from public commercial software, the number of code lines is tiny compared to a public commercial software, changes are only made infrequently and with extensive testing, and many programming and test personnel work on the small amount of computer code. However in theory it can still fail, and the BFS exists for that contingency. And while BFS will run in parallel with PASS, to date, BFS has never been engaged to take over control from PASS during any shuttle mission.

The software for the shuttle computers is written in a high-level language called HAL/S, somewhat similar to PL/I. It is specifically designed for a real time embedded system environment.

The IBM AP-101 computers originally had about 424 kilobytes of magnetic core memory each. The CPU could process about 400,000 instructions per second. They have no hard disk drive, and load software from magnetic tape cartridges.

In 1990, the original computers were replaced with an upgraded model AP-101S, which has about 2.5 times the memory capacity (about 1 megabyte) and three times the processor speed (about 1.2 million instructions per second). The memory was changed from magnetic core to semiconductor with battery backup.
Space Shuttle program insignia

[edit] Markings and insignia

The typeface used on the Space Shuttle Orbiter is Helvetica.[9] On the side of the shuttle between the cockpit windows and the cargo bay doors is the name of the orbiter. Underneath the rear of the cargo bay doors is the NASA insignia, the text 'United States' and a flag of the United States. Another United States flag appears on the right wing.

[edit] Upgrades
During STS-101, Atlantis was the first shuttle to fly with a glass cockpit.

Internally, the shuttle remains largely similar to the original design, with the exception of the improved avionics computers. In addition to the computer upgrades, the original analog primary flight instruments were replaced with modern full-color, flat-panel display screens, similar to those of contemporary airliners like the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. This is called a glass cockpit. Programmable calculators are carried as well (originally the HP-41C). With the coming of the ISS, the orbiter's internal airlocks have been replaced with external docking systems to allow for a greater amount of cargo to be stored on the shuttle's mid-deck during station resupply missions.

The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) have had several improvements to enhance reliability and power. This explains phrases such as "Main engines throttling up to 104%." This does not mean the engines are being run over a safe limit. The 100% figure is the original specified power level. During the lengthy development program, Rocketdyne determined the engine was capable of safe reliable operation at 104% of the originally specified thrust. They could have rescaled the output number, saying in essence 104% is now 100%. To clarify this would have required revising much previous documentation and software, so the 104% number was retained. SSME upgrades are denoted as "block numbers", such as block I, block II, and block IIA. The upgrades have improved engine reliability, maintainability and performance. The 109% thrust level was finally reached in flight hardware with the Block II engines in 2001. The normal maximum throttle is 104%, with 106% or 109% used for mission aborts.

For the first two missions, STS-1 and STS-2, the external tank was painted white to protect the insulation that covers much of the tank, but improvements and testing showed that it was not required. The weight saved by not painting the tank results in an increase in payload capability to orbit.[10] Additional weight was saved by removing some of the internal "stringers" in the hydrogen tank that proved unnecessary. The resulting "light-weight external tank" has been used on the vast majority of shuttle missions. STS-91 saw the first flight of the "super light-weight external tank". This version of the tank is made of the 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy. It weighs 3.4 tonnes (7,500 lb) less than the last run of lightweight tanks. As the shuttle cannot fly unmanned, each of these improvements has been "tested" on operational flights.

The SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters) have undergone improvements as well. Design engineers added a third O-ring seal to the joints between the segments after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
The three nozzles of the Main Engine cluster with the two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods, and the vertical stabilizer above.

Several other SRB improvements were planned in order to improve performance and safety, but never came to be. These culminated in the considerably simpler, lower cost, probably safer and better performing Advanced Solid Rocket Booster. These rockets entered production in the early to mid-1990s to support the Space Station, but were later canceled to save money after the expenditure of $2.2 billion.[11] The loss of the ASRB program resulted in the development of the Super LightWeight external Tank (SLWT), which provides some of the increased payload capability, while not providing any of the safety improvements. In addition, the Air Force developed their own much lighter single-piece SRB design using a filament-wound system, but this too was canceled.

STS-70 was delayed in 1995, when woodpeckers bored holes in the foam insulation of Discovery's external tank. Since then, NASA has installed commercial plastic owl decoys and inflatable owl balloons which must be removed prior to launch.[12] The delicate nature of the foam insulation has been the cause of damage to the Thermal Protection System, the tile heat shield and heat wrap of the orbiter, during recent launches. NASA remains confident that this damage, while it was the primary cause of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003, will not jeopardize the objective of NASA to complete the International Space Station (ISS) in the projected time allotted.

A cargo-only, unmanned variant of the shuttle has been variously proposed, and rejected since the 1980s. It was called the Shuttle-C, and would have traded re-usability for cargo capability, with large potential savings from reusing technology developed for the space shuttle.

On the first four shuttle missions, astronauts wore modified U.S. Air Force high-altitude full-pressure suits, which included a full-pressure helmet during ascent and descent. From the fifth flight, STS-5, until the loss of Challenger, one-piece light blue nomex flight suits and partial-pressure helmets were worn. A less-bulky, partial-pressure version of the high-altitude pressure suits with a helmet was reinstated when shuttle flights resumed in 1988. The Launch-Entry Suit ended its service life in late 1995, and was replaced by the full-pressure Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES), which resembles the Gemini space suit worn in the mid-1960s.

To extend the duration that orbiters can stay docked at the ISS, the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS) was installed. The SSPTS allows these orbiters to use power provided by the ISS to preserve their consumables. The SSPTS was first used successfully on STS-118.

[edit] Technical data
Space Shuttle Atlantis transported by a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), 1998 (NASA).
Space Shuttle Endeavour being transported by a Boeing 747.
Space Shuttle Orbiter and Soyuz-TM (drawn to scale).
An overhead view of Atlantis as it sits atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) before STS-79. Two Tail Service Masts (TSMs) to either side of the orbiter's tail provide umbilical connections for propellant loading and electrical power.
Water is released onto the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39A at the start of a rare sound suppression system test in 2004. During launch, 300,000 US gallons (1,100 m³ are poured onto the pad in only 41 seconds.

Orbiter specifications[13] (for Endeavour, OV-105)

* Length: 122.17 ft (37.237 m)
* Wingspan: 78.06 ft (23.79 m)
* Height: 58.58 ft (17.86 m)
* Empty weight: 172,000 lb (78,000 kg)[14]
* Gross liftoff weight: 240,000 lb (110,000 kg)
* Maximum landing weight: 230,000 lb (100,000 kg)
* Main engines: Three Rocketdyne Block IIA SSMEs, each with a sea level thrust of 393,800 lbf (1.752 MN) at 104% power
* Maximum payload: 55,250 lb (25,060 kg)
* Payload bay dimensions: 15 ft × 59 ft (4.6 m × 18 m)
* Operational altitude: 100 to 520 nmi (190 to 960 km; 120 to 600 mi)
* Speed: 7,743 m/s (27,870 km/h; 17,320 mph)
* Crossrange: 1,085 nmi (2,009 km; 1,249 mi)
* Crew: Varies. The earliest shuttle flights had the minimum crew of two; many later missions a crew of five. Today, typically seven people fly (commander, pilot, several mission specialists, and rarely a flight engineer). On two occasions, eight astronauts have flown (STS-61-A, STS-71). Eleven people could be accommodated in an emergency mission (see STS-3xx).

External tank specifications (for SLWT)

* Length: 46.9 m (154 ft)
* Diameter: 8.4 m (28 ft)
* Propellant volume: 2,025 m3 (534,900 US gal)
* Empty weight: 26,535 kg (58,500 lb)
* Gross liftoff weight: 756,000 kg (1,670,000 lb)

Solid Rocket Booster specifications

* Length: 45.6 m (150 ft)
* Diameter: 3.7 m (12 ft)
* Empty weight (per booster): 63,272 kg (139,490 lb)
* Gross liftoff weight (per booster): 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)
* Thrust (sea level, liftoff): 12.5 MN (2,810,000 lbf)

System Stack specifications

* Height: 56 m (180 ft)
* Gross liftoff weight: 2,000,000 kg (4,400,000 lb)
* Total liftoff thrust: 30.16 MN (6,780,000 lbf)

[edit] Mission profile

[edit] Launch

All Space Shuttle missions are launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The same weather criteria are used for launch and for end of mission landing at KSC and include precipitation (none allowed at the launch pad or flight path), temperatures above 99 degrees or below 35 degrees, a 20% or greater chance of lightning within 5 nautical miles and cloud cover allows direct visual observation of the shuttle through 8,000 feet.[15] The shuttle will not be launched under conditions where it could be struck by lightning. Aircraft are often struck by lightning with no adverse effects because the electricity of the strike is dissipated through its conductive structure and the aircraft is not electrically grounded. Like most jet airliners, the shuttle is mainly constructed of conductive aluminum, which would normally shield and protect the internal systems. However, upon takeoff the shuttle sends out a long exhaust plume as it ascends, and this plume can trigger lightning by providing a current path to ground. The NASA Anvil Rule for a shuttle launch states that an anvil cloud cannot appear within a distance of 10 nautical miles.[16] The Shuttle Launch Weather Officer will monitor conditions until the final decision to scrub a launch is announced. In addition, the weather conditions must be acceptable at one of the Transatlantic Abort Landing sites (one of several Space Shuttle abort modes) to launch as well as the solid rocket booster recovey area.[15][17] While the shuttle might safely endure a lightning strike, a similar strike caused problems on Apollo 12, so for safety NASA chooses not to launch the shuttle if lightning is possible (NPR8715.5).
STS mission profile

Historically, the Shuttle was not launched if its flight would run from December to January (a year-end rollover or YERO). Its flight software, designed in the 1970s, was not designed for this, and would require the orbiter's computers be reset through a change of year, which could cause a glitch while in orbit. In 2007, NASA engineers devised a solution so Shuttle flights could cross the year-end boundary.[18]

On the day of a launch, after the final hold in the countdown at T minus 9 minutes, the Shuttle goes through its final preparations for launch, and the countdown is automatically controlled by tthe Ground Launch Sequencer (GLS), software at the Launch Control Center, which stops the count if it senses a critical problem with any of the Shuttle's on-board systems. The GLS hands off the count to the Shuttle's on-board computers at T minus 31 seconds, in a process called auto sequence start.

At T minus 16 seconds, the massive sound suppression system (SPS) begins to drench the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) and SRB trenches with 300,000 US gallons (1,100 m3) of water to protect the Orbiter from damage by acoustical energy and rocket exhaust reflected from the flame trench and MLP during liftoff.[19]

At T-minus 10 seconds, hydrogen igniters are activated under each engine bell to quell the stagnant gas inside the cones before ignition. Failure to burn these gases can trip the onboard sensors and create the possibility of an overpressure and explosion of the vehicle during the firing phase. The main engine turbopumps also begin charging the combustion chambers with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen at this time. The computers reciprocate this action by allowing the redundant computer systems to begin the firing phase.
Shuttle launch of Atlantis at sunset in 2001. The sun is behind the camera, and the plume's shadow intersects the moon across the sky.

The three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) start at T minus 6.6 seconds. The main engines ignite sequentially via the shuttle's general purpose computers (GPCs) at 120 millisecond intervals. The GPCs require that the engines reach 90% of their rated performance to complete the final gimbal of the main engine nozzles to liftoff configuration.[20] When the SSMEs start, the water from the sound suppression system flashes into a large volume of steam that shoots southward. All three SSMEs must reach the required 100% thrust within three seconds, otherwise the onboard computers will initiate an RSLS abort. If the onboard computers verify normal thrust buildup, at T minus 0 seconds, the SRBs are ignited. At this point the vehicle is committed to takeoff, as the SRBs cannot be turned off once ignited. After the SRBs reach a stable thrust ratio, pyrotechnic nuts are detonated by radio controlled signals from the shuttle's GPC's to release the vehicle.[21] The plume from the solid rockets exits the flame trench in a northward direction at near the speed of sound, often causing a rippling of shockwaves along the actual flame and smoke contrails. At ignition, the GPC's mandate the firing sequences via the Master Events Controller, a computer program integrated with the shuttle's four redundant computer systems. There are extensive emergency procedures (abort modes) to handle various failure scenarios during ascent. Many of these concern SSME failures, since that is the most complex and highly stressed component. After the Challenger disaster, there were extensive upgrades to the abort modes.

After the main engines start, but while the solid rocket boosters are still clamped to the pad, the offset thrust from the Shuttle's three main engines causes the entire launch stack (boosters, tank and shuttle) to pitch down about 2 m at cockpit level. This motion is called the "nod", or "twang" in NASA jargon. As the boosters flex back into their original shape, the launch stack pitches slowly back upright. This takes approximately six seconds. At the point when it is perfectly vertical, the boosters ignite and the launch commences.

Shortly after clearing the tower the Shuttle begins a roll and pitch program to set its orbital inclination and so that the vehicle is below the external tank and SRBs, with wings level. The vehicle climbs in a progressively flattening arc, accelerating as the weight of the SRBs and main tank decrease. To achieve low orbit requires much more horizontal than vertical acceleration. This is not visually obvious, since the vehicle rises vertically and is out of sight for most of the horizontal acceleration. The near circular orbital velocity at the 380 kilometers (236 mi) altitude of the International Space Station is 7.68 kilometers per second 27,650 km/h (17,180 mph), roughly equivalent to Mach 23 at sea level. As the International Space Station orbits at an inclination of 51.6 degrees, the Shuttle has to set its inclination to the same value to rendezvous with the station.
SSLV at Mach 2.46 and 66,000 ft (20,000 m). The surface of the vehicle is colored by the pressure coefficient, and the gray contours represent the density of the surrounding air, as calculated using the overflow codes.

Around a point called Max Q, where the aerodynamic forces are at their maximum, the main engines are temporarily throttled back to avoid overspeeding and hence overstressing the Shuttle, particularly in vulnerable areas such as the wings. At this point, a phenomenon known as the Prandtl-Glauert singularity occurs, where condensation clouds form during the vehicle's transition to supersonic speed.

126 seconds after launch, explosive bolts release the SRBs and small separation rockets push them laterally away from the vehicle. The SRBs parachute back to the ocean to be reused. The Shuttle then begins accelerating to orbit on the Space Shuttle main engines. The vehicle at that point in the flight has a thrust-to-weight ratio of less than one – the main engines actually have insufficient thrust to exceed the force of gravity, and the vertical speed given to it by the SRBs temporarily decreases. However, as the burn continues, the weight of the propellant decreases and the thrust-to-weight ratio exceeds 1 again and the ever-lighter vehicle then continues to accelerate toward orbit.
A picture taken of the afterglow from STS 119 with colors varying from white to orange.

The vehicle continues to climb and takes on a somewhat nose-up angle to the horizon – it uses the main engines to gain and then maintain altitude while it accelerates horizontally towards orbit. At about five and three-quarter minutes into ascent, the orbiter rolls heads up to switch communication links from ground stations to Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

Finally, in the last tens of seconds of the main engine burn, the mass of the vehicle is low enough that the engines must be throttled back to limit vehicle acceleration to 3 g (30 m/s², largely for astronaut comfort.

The main engines are shut down before complete depletion of propellant, as running dry would destroy the engines. The oxygen supply is terminated before the hydrogen supply, as the SSMEs react unfavorably to other shutdown modes. (Liquid oxygen has a tendency to react violently, and supports combustion when it encounters hot engine metal.) The external tank is released by firing explosive bolts and falls, largely burning up in the atmosphere, though some fragments fall into the ocean, in either the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean depending on launch profile.[13] The sealing action of the tank plumbing and lack of pressure relief systems on the external tank helps it break up in the lower atmosphere. After the foam burns away during reentry, the heat causes a pressure buildup in the remaining liquid oxygen and hydrogen until the tank explodes. This ensures that any pieces that fall back to Earth are small.

To prevent the shuttle from following the external tank back into the lower atmosphere, the Orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines are fired to raise the perigee higher into the upper atmosphere. On some missions (e.g., missions to the ISS), the OMS engines are also used while the main engines are still firing. The reason for putting the orbiter on a path that brings it back to Earth is not just for external tank disposal but also one of safety: if the OMS malfunctions, or the cargo bay doors cannot open for some reason, the shuttle is already on a path to return to earth for an emergency abort landing.

[edit] Re-entry and landing
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)
Simulation of the outside of the Shuttle as it heats up to over 1,500 °C during re-entry.
Two space shuttles sit at launch pads. This particular occasion is due to the final Hubble servicing mission, where the International Space Station is unreachable, necessitating having a shuttle on standby for a possible rescue mission.
A space shuttle model undergoes a wind tunnel test in 1975. This test is simulating the ionized gasses that surround a shuttle as it reenters the atmosphere.

Almost the entire space shuttle re-entry, except for lowering the landing gear and deploying the air data probes, is normally performed under computer control. However, the re-entry can be flown entirely manually if an emergency arises. The approach and landing phase can be controlled by the autopilot, but is usually hand flown.

The vehicle begins re-entry by firing the Orbital maneuvering system engines, while flying upside down, backside first, in the opposite direction to orbital motion for approximately three minutes, which reduces the shuttle's velocity by about 200 mph (322 km/h). The resultant slowing of the Shuttle lowers its orbital perigee down into the upper atmosphere. The shuttle then flips over, by pulling its nose up (which is actually "down" because it's flying upside down). This OMS firing is done roughly halfway around the globe from the landing site.

The vehicle starts encountering more significant air density in the lower thermosphere at about 400,000 ft (120 km), at around Mach 25, 8,200 m/s (30,000 km/h; 18,000 mph). The vehicle is controlled by a combination of RCS thrusters and control surfaces, to fly at a 40 degree nose-up attitude, producing high drag, not only to slow it down to landing speed, but also to reduce reentry heating. In addition, the vehicle needs to decelerate before reaching the landing site by performing S-shaped maneuvers back and forth at up to a 70 degree roll angle.

The orbiter's maximum glide ratio/lift-to-drag ratio varies considerably with speed, ranging from 1:1 at hypersonic speeds, 2:1 at supersonic speeds and reaching 4.5:1 at subsonic speeds during approach and landing.[22]

In the lower atmosphere, the orbiter flies much like a conventional glider, except for a much higher descent rate, over 50 m/s (180 km/h; 110 mph).

At approximately Mach 3, two air data probes, located on the left and right sides of the orbiter's forward lower fuselage, are deployed to sense air pressure related to the vehicle's movement in the atmosphere.
Columbia touches down at Kennedy Space Center at the end of STS-73.

When the approach and landing phase begins, the orbiter is at a 3,000 m (9,800 ft) altitude, 12 km (7.5 mi) from the runway. The pilots apply aerodynamic braking to help slow down the vehicle. The orbiter's speed is reduced from 682 to 346 km/h (424 to 215 mph), approximately, at touch-down (compared to 260 km/h (160 mph) for a jet airliner). The landing gear is deployed while the Orbiter is flying at 430 km/h (270 mph). To assist the speed brakes, a 12 m (39 ft) drag chute is deployed either after main gear or nose gear touchdown (depending on selected chute deploy mode) at about 343 km/h (213 mph). The chute is jettisoned once the orbiter slows to 110 km/h (68.4 mph).

After landing, the vehicle stands on the runway for several minutes to permit the fumes from poisonous hydrazine (which is used as a fuel for attitude control, and the orbiter's three APUs) to dissipate, and for the shuttle fuselage to cool before the astronauts disembark.

[edit] Landing sites

Space Shuttle landings are always planned for Kennedy Space Center.[citation needed] If weather conditions make landing there unfavorable, the shuttle can delay its landing until conditions are favorable; touch down at Edwards Air Force Base, California; or at other sites around the world. A landing at any site other than Kennedy Space Center means that the shuttle must be mated to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and returned to Cape Canaveral. Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-3) landed at the White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico;[citation needed] this is viewed as a last resort as NASA scientists believe that the sand could potentially damage the shuttle's exterior.
A computer simulation of high velocity air flow around the space shuttle during re-entry.

There are many alternate landing sites which have never been utilized.[23][24]

[edit] Fleet history
Main article: List of space shuttle missions

Below is a list of major events in the Space Shuttle orbiter fleet.
Space Shuttle major events Date Orbiter Major event Remarks
February 18, 1977 Enterprise First flight Attached to Shuttle Carrier Aircraft throughout flight.
August 12, 1977 Enterprise First free flight Tailcone on; lakebed landing.
October 12, 1977 Enterprise Fourth free flight First with no tailcone; lakebed landing.
October 26, 1977 Enterprise Final Enterprise free flight First landing on Edwards AFB concrete runway.
April 12, 1981 Columbia First Columbia flight, first orbital test flight STS-1
November 11, 1982 Columbia First operational flight of the Space Shuttle, first mission to carry four astronauts STS-5
April 4, 1983 Challenger First Challenger flight STS-6
August 30, 1984 Discovery First Discovery flight STS-41-D
October 3, 1985 Atlantis First Atlantis flight STS-51-J
January 28, 1986 Challenger Disintegrated 73 seconds after launch STS-51-L, all seven crew members perished.
September 29, 1988 Discovery First post-Challenger mission STS-26
May 4, 1989 Atlantis The first Space Shuttle mission to launch a space probe, Magellan. STS-30
April 24, 1990 Discovery Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope STS-31
May 7, 1992 Endeavour First Endeavour flight STS-49
November 19, 1996 Columbia Longest Shuttle mission to date at 17 days, 15 hours STS-80
October 11, 2000 Discovery 100th Space Shuttle mission STS-92
February 1, 2003 Columbia Disintegrated during re-entry STS-107, all seven crew members perished.
July 25, 2005 Discovery First post-Columbia mission STS-114
May 11, 2009 Atlantis Fifth and last planned servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope STS-125
In progress
None
Planned fleet events
2009 Endeavour The crew will install Japanese elements on the space station STS-127
2010 Atlantis Last planned Atlantis flight STS-132
2010 Endeavour Last planned Endeavour flight STS-133
2010 Discovery Last planned Discovery flight; Last planned flight of the Space Shuttle Program STS-134

Sources: NASA launch manifest,[25] NASA Space Shuttle archive[26]

[edit] Shuttle disasters
Main articles: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch killing all seven astronauts on board. The disaster was caused by cold-temperature impairment of the SRB O-rings, a mission critical component. Repeated warnings from design engineers voicing concerns about the lack of evidence of the O-ring's safety when the temperature was below 53 degrees Fahrenheit were ignored by NASA managers.[27]

In 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry because of damage to heat tiles caused during launch. Ground control engineers made three separate requests for high-resolution images taken by the Department of Defense that would have provided a clearer understanding of the extent of the damage, while NASA's chief thermal protection system (TPS) engineer requested that astronauts on board the Columbia be allowed to leave the vehicle to inspect the damaged tiles. NASA managers intervened to stop the Department of Defense's assistance and refused the request for the spacewalk [28] and thus the feasibility of scenarios for astronaut repair or rescue by the Space Shuttle Atlantis were not considered by NASA management at the time.[29]

[edit] Retirement

NASA's current plans call for the Space Shuttle to be retired from service in 2010, after nearly 30 years of service. Atlantis will be the first of NASA's three space shuttles to be retired as the program winds down.[30] To fill the void left by the Shuttle's retirement, a new spacecraft is being developed to ferry not only passengers and cargo to the ISS but also to travel beyond Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.[31] Originally called the Crew Exploration Vehicle, the concept has evolved into the Orion spacecraft and the project has been dubbed Project Constellation. This next-generation vehicle is targeted for first manned launch in 2014 at the earliest. Therefore, all crews traveling to and from the International Space Station during the intervening period will have to do so on board Russian spacecraft or possibly an American commercial spacecraft (see below).

Congress is discussing the possibility of delaying the retirement of the space shuttles. One proposal, which would cost about $10 billion, would have the shuttles make six or seven additional flights between 2010 and 2013 and would accelerate development of the Orion ships to be ready by then. A second proposal would keep the shuttles flying until 2015 and leave intact Orion's schedule.[32]

[edit] Non-NASA replacement vehicles and services

NASA announced the awarding of contracts for the cargo resupply of the International Space Station (ISS) to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation on December 23, 2008.[33] SpaceX will use its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft.[34] Orbital Sciences will use its Taurus II launch vehicle and Cygnus spacecraft.

Space Mountain

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:47:00 PDT

My representation of Space Mountain at Disneyland. I combined the look of the jacket and the shirt the girl cast members wear for this one, and came up with a full body suit. In my head it's what I see so that's what I'm sticking with. Enjoy!

Her look was requested by Beth, who I am pretty sure was inspired by Misty Knight, one of her favorite Marvel Divas...

~Part of the Disneyland Attractions Project~ [link]

Tomorrowland

The World of Time and Space I

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:28:51 PDT

Companion piece to The World of Time and Space II

It's an idea that lives in my head ever since I first saw ~Sakiko-Seihikaru cosplay as the doctor. But sadly I didn't get a chance to take a photo like this.... But creative ideas like this one tend to annoy me to hell and back if I try to ignore them...so....I just had to draw it instead. ö_ö
BUT(!) I'll get my photo in 2 weeks and THEN I'll recreate this picture as a cosplay photo! Muharharrrrrr!

This series is not created by me.