Author Topic: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?  (Read 29325 times)

Offline Nomadd

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #20 on: 12/12/2017 12:31 am »
 Depends on how much I've had to drink.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.

Offline Tomness

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #21 on: 12/12/2017 01:23 am »
BC-304 from Stargate

Offline the_other_Doug

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #22 on: 12/12/2017 01:41 am »
The Starduster, from "Scott McCloud: SPACE ANGEL!"

-Doug  (With my shield, not yet upon it)

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #23 on: 12/12/2017 01:42 am »
Some of my favorites have already been mentioned so I'll add the XRV from Marooned...
« Last Edit: 12/12/2017 01:50 am by Rocket Science »
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
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Offline Darkseraph

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #24 on: 12/12/2017 01:45 am »
ISV Venture Star from Avatar

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Offline Jeff Lerner

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #25 on: 12/12/2017 01:52 am »
Battlestar Galactica....

Offline Zed_Noir

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #26 on: 12/12/2017 01:57 am »
The Babylon 5 White Star





Inspiring today's analog, The Tesla "White Star", otherwise known as the Californian 5 Door Liftback Sedan dragster in ludicrous mode.

Offline Rocket Science

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #27 on: 12/12/2017 02:00 am »
Cavorite Sphere from H.G. Wells First Men in the Moon spaceship...
« Last Edit: 12/12/2017 07:47 pm by Rocket Science »
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
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Offline Cherokee43v6

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #28 on: 12/12/2017 02:13 am »
Battlestar Galactica....

Okay, is that a promo still or is that someone's artwork?

Cause there's a Firefly just left of the triple saucer!

Edit... nevermind... it's artwork. :)  Seems that the ARGO/YAMATO is further left! ;)
« Last Edit: 12/12/2017 02:15 am by Cherokee43v6 »
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Offline KelvinZero

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #29 on: 12/12/2017 04:57 am »
The Millennium Falcon. It was just so ugly that it looked convincing. like something an engineer was forced to produce by what he had to work with, rather than something that any SF modeller would ever put their name to.

..though it also slipped in a nice WW2 feel, reminiscent of a Lancaster cockpit and turret, or some other unspecific ww2 aircraft.

I also like various vehicles with spin gravity, such as the Leanov from 2010, and early Babylon 5 earth ships.

« Last Edit: 12/15/2017 04:20 am by KelvinZero »

Offline Lars-J

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #30 on: 12/12/2017 05:02 pm »
Old-school B5 fan here... Hyperion and Omega class:

Offline Endeavour_01

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #31 on: 12/12/2017 05:26 pm »
Like Tomness my favorite spaceship has to be the DSC-304 (or BC-304) from Stargate.

I even put it on my Physics Tests.

Edited to add: I actually have several "spaceship problems" (as my students call them) with different sci-fi craft (lest my students forget how much of a nerd I am). The 304 appears far more regularly though.
« Last Edit: 12/12/2017 05:45 pm by Endeavour_01 »
I cheer for both NASA and commercial space. For SLS, Orion, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon, Starship/SH, Starliner, Cygnus and all the rest!
I was blessed to see the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-99. The launch was beyond amazing. My 8-year old mind was blown. I remember the noise and seeing the exhaust pour out of the shuttle as it lifted off. I remember staring and watching it soar while it was visible in the clear blue sky. It was one of the greatest moments of my life and I will never forget it.

Offline Ben the Space Brit

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #32 on: 12/12/2017 08:45 pm »
My list definitely includes the Lockheed-Martin CM-88 Bison multi-purpose cargo tug from the Alien universe.

There's just something about the Nostromo and the Torrens that I just can't help loving. I think it's the way Charley Henley made the class look and feel like a real working ship - A bit battered around the edges and with luxuries kept to a minimum because the owners want to focus on payload and revenue, not crew comfort.



She's hardly a visual looker, but there's no doubt that this is a ship you'd choose if you want to actually do something like haul a few million tonnes of ore or a thousand colonists in cryo plus all the parts to start a settlement.
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Offline Oersted

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #33 on: 12/13/2017 12:21 pm »
There's just something about the Nostromo and the Torrens that I just can't help loving. I think it's the way Charley Henley made the class look and feel like a real working ship - A bit battered around the edges and with luxuries kept to a minimum because the owners want to focus on payload and revenue, not crew comfort.
She's hardly a visual looker, but there's no doubt that this is a ship you'd choose if you want to actually do something like haul a few million tonnes of ore or a thousand colonists in cryo plus all the parts to start a settlement.

Thanks, Ben, for putting into words why you like the ship. When people just post a picture of their favourite ship it is not that interesting.

I have a soft spot for the Moon ship in Fritz Lang's "Frau im Mond." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Moon)

For a movie made in 1929 (!) it really got so many things right. Even a water-sound suppression system at launch! The ship itself has an iconic bullet shape, with four boxy side-mounted propulsion rockets sporting huge air intakes. It is not too different from a Soyuz, if you squint your eyes really hard...  :-)



"Frau im Mond" was the first truly scientifically based hard sci-fi movie, and even though much of it is taken up by stupid intrigues, it definitely made space flight much more believable, as a target that could eventually be attained. It certainly inspired v. Braun and others hugely.

If you haven't seen the launch sequence you really owe it to yourself:

Part 1 (with English intertitles):


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4 (launch):

 
« Last Edit: 12/13/2017 02:29 pm by Oersted »

Offline jtrame

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #34 on: 12/14/2017 10:40 am »
Cygnus from the Black Hole. 

Offline jgoldader

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #35 on: 12/14/2017 02:13 pm »
There's the Enterprise Refit (ST:TMP), then there's just... other ships.

Edit: I mean, come on...
« Last Edit: 12/15/2017 11:32 am by jgoldader »
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Offline the_other_Doug

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #36 on: 12/14/2017 08:42 pm »
The enterprise design was really revolutionary at the time. My TOP1 favourite...



Just recall, up until *really* late in the pre-production phase for the first Star Trek pilot, that iconic and progressive shape for the Enterprise was going to be exactly upside-down from what we ended up with.  As I understand it, they had a pretty good rough of the ship in sketches, when Matt Jeffries just started looking at them from a bunch of different angles, and decided that saucer-up looked better than saucer-down...
-Doug  (With my shield, not yet upon it)

Offline rcoppola

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #37 on: 12/14/2017 09:01 pm »
Close Encounters...
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Offline Endeavour_01

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #38 on: 12/15/2017 03:10 am »
When people just post a picture of their favourite ship it is not that interesting.

Challenge accepted. Prepare for a lot of nerdy verbiage.

There are many reasons why the 304 is my favorite sci-fi ship.

1. Practicality

You can point to almost any part of a 304 and immediately recognize its purpose. The forward dorsal section of the neck houses the VLS missile launchers, the small spherical domes are railgun emplacements, the large bays on either side carry fighters, and so on. It is clearly a military vessel.

Now don't get me wrong. I like sci-fi ships that don't have obvious explanations for everything on them. Still, it is fun to easily see the reasons why a particular part is on the ship.

2. Ruggedness

The 304 is a tough little ship. Earth in the Stargate universe doesn't have the resources to match the massive fleets of its enemies so it creates (with help) a nimble, multipurpose battlecruiser that can complete a wide array of mission types.

Even though the 304 has advanced alien tech its size is puny next to the opponents it faces and in many engagements it is outgunned and forced to take on multiple opponents. You gotta respect a ship that can take a beating on a regular basis and keep on going.

3. Nods to real life

One of the reasons I really like the 304 and Stargate in general is that it is set in the modern day. You can see elements of real life ship design on the 304. Take the conning tower at the rear or the aforementioned VLS missile tubes.

4. Emotional attachment

In Star Trek the Enterprise is as much of a character as the crew and the audience became emotionally attached to it as well. This isn't as overt in Stargate but certain 304s (the Daedalus in SGA and the Odyssey in SG-1) play extremely important roles in the show. You know that you really like a ship when you are crossing your fingers during a battle hoping that it doesn't get destroyed.

Old-school B5 fan here... Hyperion and Omega class:

I'm a big fan of the Omega as well. The spin gravity and the functionality of the vessel really appeal.
I cheer for both NASA and commercial space. For SLS, Orion, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Dragon, Starship/SH, Starliner, Cygnus and all the rest!
I was blessed to see the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-99. The launch was beyond amazing. My 8-year old mind was blown. I remember the noise and seeing the exhaust pour out of the shuttle as it lifted off. I remember staring and watching it soar while it was visible in the clear blue sky. It was one of the greatest moments of my life and I will never forget it.

Offline JAFO

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Re: Favorite Spaceships from Science Fiction?
« Reply #39 on: 12/15/2017 08:44 pm »
X-Wing. If you need to ask why, you'll never get it.


« Last Edit: 12/15/2017 08:47 pm by JAFO »
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