Freespace Architecture

Architect Steve Shaw conceived the idea of a space tourist facility for his masters’ thesis at the University of Manitoba in 2004. He called it Freespace.
Structurally, Freespace is based on NASA-developed technology for the Trans-Hab module. Essentially a large inflatable bladder of multi-layered fabric construction, the skin is nine times stronger than steel. An exoskeletal aluminum truss provides rigid anchor points for docking, solar arrays, and venting. Interior walls are inflatable and facilitate internal routing of electrical and ventilation services. Freespace is designed to be constructed on Earth, collapsed, and shipped where it would be inflated for use.
It looks like a very promising period of time for pioneers of all trades.

ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ Wanderers プラネテス

The Greek word ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ, which forms the title of this anime, means "wanderers". It is the word applied by the ancient Greeks to the "stars" (or so they seemed) which weren't fixed in the night sky, but wandered. This is how the modern English word "planets" derived. The anime deals with the situations that a futuristic society faces in the ending of the 21st century when space flight is common but there are still many unsolved societal problems such as global conflict and capitalistic exploitation. It is really a very deeply philosophical work that goes beyond the obvious simplistic anime to become a rewarding adult experience. The main characters are company workers that spend their time getting rid of "space debris" or literary... garbage! A very resourceful parallel.

Look Fish! Relic's Viral campaign...

Relic, the company that gave us such wonderful games as the Homeworld and Dawn of War series is about to announce a couple of new titles. It seems that it has launched a viral marketing campaign in the forums of Relicnews.com. They have been giving clues such as coordinates to google earth, html source comments and cryptic images with fish and stuff... It is about time they announced a new Homeworld title and spare us the torment! I can only hope... The picture is my representation of their imaginative clues...

Ulysses 31

A long time ago there used to be this cartoon that aired on Greek TV called Ulysses 31. It was the story of a descendant of the Homeric Ulysses that travels the universe in his spaceship in search of a way back to Earth. It was great viewing and had very good designs for that time. I have seen it again a couple of years ago and it brought back memories! check out a fan site here.

Scale study Part 2: Jeff Russell's Starship Dimensions

Have you ever wondered what is the scale relation of the star destroyer and the Eiffel Tower? Or better between the Death Star and the Moon or the Ringworld? Well, the ultimate resource of starship scale can be found here !

Various Sci fi art

These are just some more spectacular drawings that Sophia found on the net! Thanks again!

Solar Sailing!

Solar Sails are the lightest and most delicate of reflective films. They are enormous, for the way they propel the spacecraft is by actually catching the sun's rays. The light from a star such as the sun actually has a very very small force it can exert. In space there is enough solar light pressure to actually move objects. It is a gradual effect, but it builds up with time. Eventually a spacecraft can get moving pretty fast. There have already been designs of real solar sails that have been built by scientists around the world. In science fiction the Solar Sailer of Count Dooku is probalby the best known craft of this type, followed by the Bajoran Lightship. Solar Sailing is one of the most potent ways of transversing between solar systems! Who knows maybe during our lifetime the first star sailor will depart for the distant solar systems! I can only hope to see this!

Various Sci Fi pics

These images have been discovered and are courtesy of the great explorer Sophia! They are vehicle designs mostly land and airospace crafts. They are a fine supplement to the last post!

Spacecrafts of the Metabarons

The universe of the Metabarons - Incal has made a huge impression on me because of some excellent designs that have been utilised in combat armour and costumes, architecture and space faring vehicles. I believe there are many people that have contributed to the process of designing in this mythology that borrows many good elements from classic science fiction and fantasy. This time you can see a few samples of some of these spacecrafts designed by Gimenez and Moebius before him.

Various Sci Fi pics

A couple of day ago i had my nameday - St Peter and Paul's day - and it was an excellent opportunity to have a good time with friend sand family! The whole thing inolved lots of food and drink and presents! My very good friend and collegue, Sophia P., had this excellent idea for a present! She surfed the net in search of futuristic and fantasy pictures that i would enjoy! She made a huge bundle of hundreds of pics and handed it over to me. The idea was to just enjoy them at my free time but better still, i am going to make a series of posts based on this material!

And to begin with... Futuristic architecture by Feng Zhu design !

Many many thanks to you Sophia!