List of Space: 1999 vehicles
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This is a list of spacecraft and other vehicles that appear in Space: 1999, a 1970s British science-fiction television series.
Eagle Transporter
The Eagle Transporter is Moonbase Alpha's primary reconnaissance, supply and defence spacecraft.
Mark IX Hawk
| Mark IX Hawk | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "War Games" |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | Global Defence Command |
| Launched | 1997 |
| Decommissioned | 13 September 1999 (fleet destroyed) |
| General characteristics | |
| Armaments | 16 missiles, 3 laser batteries and 2 fusion torpedoes |
| Propulsion | Compressed hydrogen |
| Power | 2 nuclear power packs |
| Length | 18.75 metres (61.5 ft) |
| Width | 5.95 metres (19.5 ft) |
| Height | 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) |
The Mark IX Hawk is a warship featured in the first series episode "War Games". Highly-manoeuvrable and well-armed, it was designed specifically to counter extraterrestrial threats against Earth and its colonies. In the episode, a Hawk fleet launched from an alien planet attacks Moonbase Alpha, obliterating the Eagle squadron and inflicting serious damage on the base.
Commissioned in 1997 by the Global Defence Command, the original Hawk fleet is based at Space Dock until the Moon's catastrophic departure from Earth orbit on 13 September 1999. Since the most recent UFO incursions had occurred nearly 20 years previously, plans to build a Hawk base on the Moon were abandoned earlier that year.[1]
Like the Eagle Transporter, the Mark IX Hawk is modular, comprising a command module, service module and engines. It incorporates a two-person cockpit (for one pilot and one gunner) and a life support system mounted on a single fusion engine. Its booster rockets produce a maximum acceleration of 20 g and its forward wings can be fitted with additional weapons as and when required. In an emergency, the weapons pods and engines can be jettisoned and the command module used as a lifeboat.[1]
Meta Probe
| Meta Probe | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Breakaway" |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | World Space Commission |
| Launched | September 1999 (planned) |
| Decommissioned | 13 September 1999 (lost) |
| General characteristics | |
| Power | 3 nuclear fusion rocket engines |
| Length | 50 metres (160 ft) |
Meta Probe is an investigative space probe featured in the pilot episode of the series, "Breakaway". Designed to transport a two-person crew to an uncharted planet, "Meta", which is passing through the outskirts of the Solar System and is thought to harbour intelligent extraterrestrial life, it is due to be launched from Space Dock in September 1999.[2]
The mission to Meta is postponed when the crew seemingly contract a virus, later dying on Moonbase Alpha (although the cause of death is subsequently revealed to be "magnetic radiation" emanating from nuclear waste disposal areas on the Moon's far side). With the arrival of a back-up crew, preparations for launch resume, but both Meta Probe and Space Dock are lost when the disposal sites detonate and the resulting chain reaction forces the Moon from its orbit. Meta Probe is hurled into interplanetary space.[2]
The centre section comprises four cylindrical propellant tanks in addition to two solar panel-like structures. The forward section consists of a standard two-person Eagle Transporter command module attached to a cylindrical module measuring 4.5 metres (15 ft).
Moon Buggy
The Moon Buggy is used for both short- and long-range travel on the lunar surface.
Space Dock
| Space Dock | |
|---|---|
| File:Space Dock (Space 1999 - screengrab).jpg Space Dock in lunar orbit in 1999 ("Breakaway") | |
| First appearance | "Breakaway" |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | World Space Commission International Lunar Finance Commission |
| Launched | 19 June 1982 |
| Decommissioned | 13 September 1999 (destroyed) |
| Combat vehicles | Mark IX Hawk |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Space station |
Space Dock is a space station in orbit of the Moon. It is introduced in "Breakaway", in which it is also called Meta Probe Launch Platform. In "Dragon's Domain", it is referred to as Interplanetary Space Station, while The Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual (1977) uses the name Centauri Space Station.
Space Dock is used for launching interplanetary missions, including Ultra Probe (in 1996)[4] and Meta Probe (in 1999),[2] as well as providing a stop-over point for travellers to and from the Moon. Modular in construction, it comprises a cylindrical core, with two sets of "arms" projecting outwards from both ends. Re-fuelling and maintenance facilities are available, as are accommodation and dining. In "Dragon's Domain", an Eagle Transporter landing platform is also seen. Although not explicitly stated in the series itself, a fleet of Mark IX Hawk, as seen in "War Games", is probably stationed at Space Dock.[1]
Under the supervision of the International Lunar Finance Commission, the building of Space Dock commenced on 2 July 1981 and was completed by 19 June 1982, enabling the space station to preside over the construction of Moonbase Alpha, which commenced on 3 February 1983.[3] When the Moon leaves Earth orbit on 13 September 1999, Space Dock is destroyed by gravitational stress; however, a news report states that, like the Moon, the space station was simply thrown out of orbit.[2]
Super Swift
| Super Swift | |
|---|---|
| File:Super Swift.jpg | |
| First appearance | "The Bringers of Wonder", Part One |
| General characteristics | |
The Super Swift is featured in the second series episode "The Bringers of Wonder", Parts One and Two. Modelled by special effects technician Brian Johnson, its design was influenced by the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and was a re-working of that of the Swift spacecraft that appears in the earlier second series episode "Brian the Brain".
In "The Bringers of Wonder", the Super Swift is stated to have been in the initial stages of development when the Moon was blasted out of Earth orbit. Designed to incorporate an un-invented faster-than-light drive, work on the Super Swift stalled when the propulsion system could not be realised.[5] The eponymous "Bringers of Wonder" later exploit the Moonbase Alpha crew's memories of the design to create an illusion of the Super Swift while approaching the Moon in their own spacecraft. The Super Swift includes a three-person "pilot ship", a small scoutcraft also capable of faster-than-light speeds.
Ultra Probe
| Ultra Probe | |
|---|---|
| File:Ultraprobe.jpg | |
| First appearance | "Dragon's Domain" |
| Information | |
| Launched | 6 June 1996 |
| Decommissioned | February 1997 (crew killed) February 2002 (found adrift) |
| General characteristics | |
| Propulsion | Nuclear fusion rockets |
Ultra Probe is a long-range exploratory spacecraft, launched in 1996, which is featured in the first series episode "Dragon's Domain". Commanded by Captain Tony Cellini, it carries three science officers: Dr Darwin King (astrophysicist), Professor Juliet Mackie (radiation expert) and Dr Monique Fouchere (medical officer). That Cellini is able to dock an Eagle Transporter nose cone where the command module is originally positioned indicates that the technologies of the Eagle and Ultra Probe are broadly compatible.[6]
Ultra Probe is designed to travel to, and land on, the planet Ultra (discovered by Professor Victor Bergman in 1994). Launched from Space Dock, the probe arrives at Ultra in February 1997. On arrival, the crew discover a group of derelict alien spacecraft orbiting the planet.[7] During an attempted boarding, a tentacled alien lifeform enters Ultra Probe through the airlock. Capable of mind control and hypnosis, the creature seizes three of the crew and devours them, regurgitating their carcasses. Cellini escapes by detaching the command module lifeboat from the rest of the probe and is rescued six months later.[7]
Since neither the creature nor the abandoned spacecraft appear in the Ultra Probe space-flight records, the Earth authorities reject Cellini's account of the disaster, ruling that his colleagues died when he opened the airlock prematurely. Commander John Koenig believes Cellini and publicly defends him, securing a position for him on Moonbase Alpha. Following the Moon's departure from Earth orbit, the Alphans encounter the now-drifting Ultra Probe. Cellini steals an Eagle Transporter and returns to the vessel. After a struggle with the alien, he suffers the same fate as his shipmates. Koenig docks in a second Eagle and manages to kill the creature.
References
- ^ a b c Starlog Magazine, Mark IX Hawk Plans, March 1980, p. 52–53. Cite error: The named reference "Hawk" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d Space: 1999 episode "Breakaway".
- ^ a b Moonbase Alpha Technical Notebook.
- ^ Space: 1999 episode "Dragon's Domain".
- ^ Two-part Space: 1999 episode "The Bringers of Wonder".
- ^ Ultra Probe Specifications at space1999.net.
- ^ a b Ultra Probe Mission at space1999.net.
External links
- Martin Bower's Model World — official website of Martin Bower, miniature model maker on Space: 1999
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