#spacecraft
Come on out! Pete Conrad emerges from the Command Module following splashdown of Gemini 11 in the Atlantic Ocean, Sept 1966. The penultimate mission of Project Gemini saw Conrad & Richard Gordon perform the 1st direct-ascent rendezvous with an AGT (Agena Target Vehicle). The G11 craft docked with the AGT on 1st orbit, just 94 minutes after launch. Backup crew for the mission were Neil Armstrong & William Anders.
What’s that out my window? A lunar rendezvous is in progress between the Command Service Module & Lunar Module during Apollo 10, May 1969. A10 was the 2nd mission to orbit the moon (after Apollo 8) & served as a dress rehearsal for a landing on the moon. The mission was flown by John Young, Tom Stafford & Gene Cernan. They flew the Lunar Module 8.4 nautical miles above the moon’s surface. This is the point where a powered lunar descent would commence. On the way home they set a speed record for a crewed spacecraft at 39,897 km/h (11.08 km/s or 24,791 mph); a record which still stands today.
Leaving for work. Apollo 15 was the 4th mission to land on the moon. Astronauts David Scott & James Irwin became the first to drive on the moon courtesy the Lunar Rover. The pair landed by Hadley Rille which was originally planned to be the landing spot for Apollo 19 before budget cuts nixed the mission. The Aug 1971 mission was Scott’s 3rd and final spaceflight while it was Irwin’s & Command Module Pilot Al Worden’s first and only. What a historic mission.
The incredible rescue. The Command Module of Apollo 13 floats with astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise & Jack Swigert catching their breaths. A damaged wire had ignited on the Service Module following a stir of the oxygen tanks. The explosion left the astronauts’ supply of oxygen venting out into space. The Lunar Module then became the lifeboat for the 3. It was designed to support 2 men on the moon for 2 days; Mission Control though worked around the clock to improvise & create new procedures to allow it to support 3 men for 4 days. Just incredible. As always, I recommend director Ron Howard’s classic ‘Apollo 13’ for your viewing pleasure to see the full story.
Setting up shop. The Lunar Module Antares has touched down upon the moon with the instruments set up during Apollo 14, Feb 1971. The mission was the first to land in the Lunar Highlands & the final ‘H-Mission’, or 2-day stay on the moon. After this, Apollo flights would be J-Missions, or 3-day lunar stays. This mission with Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell & Stuart Roosa was to take place in 1970 but was pushed back following an investigation into the explosion upon the Apollo 13 spacecraft.
Splashing down. Astronauts Gus Grissom & John Young sit within their Gemini 3 capsule nicknamed ‘Molly Brown’ following splashdown of the first crewed mission of Project Gemini, March 1965. The pair had just completed 3 orbits about Earth over a near 5-hour period. G3 was the first US space mission with 2 astronauts & also the first in which thrusters were fired by the crew to change the size & shape of their orbit. This was an important step in spacecraft maneuverability essential for a potential future moon landing. Following G3, Mission Control moved from Cape Kennedy to Houston, Texas.
Credit: Plum Brooke
The Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis I mission has successfully completed several months of simulated space environment System level testing in the NASA-owned thermal vacuum chamber at Plum Brook Station in Ohio, USA.
The testing phase was split into two phases - a 47 day thermal vacuum test and a 14 day electromagnetic compatibility, followed by an interference test in ambient conditions which both simulate the conditions the spacecraft will encounter during its voyage to the Moon and back to Earth.
‘Today marked an important milestone for the Artemis I mission to the Moon,’ said Airbus Head of Space Exploration, Andreas Hammer.
‘We proved to our customers ESA and NASA that the European Service Module, designed and built by our engineers in Bremen – supported by companies in 10 European countries - meets the requirements to withstand the harsh conditions in space.
‘The Artemis programme will land the first woman and next man on the Moon and bring them back safely to Earth, we are proud to contribute to this endeavour with all our know-how, expertise and passion.’
Pleased with the results of this crucial test, the engineering teams from Airbus, the European Space Agency (ESA), Lockheed Martin and NASA have proved the spacecraft is suitable to navigate safely through the extreme conditions that it will experience in space.
Orion will be transported back to the Kennedy Space Center to undergo further testing and prepare the spacecraft for integration with the Space Launch System rocket, beginning the next era of exploration.
Artemis I will travel around the Moon and back to Earth. Airbus in Bremen is already building the second Orion Service Module for Artemis II, where
Real space mission
European Space Agency launched Solar orbiter in February 2020, starting its primary mission in November 2021, will provide the closest ever images of the Sun, the first ever close-up images of the Sun’s polar regions, and measure the composition of the solar wind and linking it to its area of origin on the Sun’s surface.
You can learn more about this mission here: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter
Speculative mission
Neptune system space probe “Verrier-Galle”. Roughly based on a “Neptune System Explorer” study from 2011 by JPL and NASA, which would be a Cassini-style spacecraft exploring Neptune and its moons.
I had started working on this back in 2015, then abandoned it for another 2 years, then picked it up again in late 2017, to finally rediscover and finish it this week. Thanks @kowalska_kaska for cool Neptune facts that reminded me about this piece ️
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Real space mission
A quick piece, mostly done while watching livestream of @osiris_rex taking samples from asteroid Bennu last month.
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Real space mission
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will be the first-ever mission to “touch” the Sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will travel directly into the Sun’s atmosphere about 4 million miles from the surface.
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As always, prints of my artworks are available in my print shop at Artstation and at Displate.com
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Fictional mission / Space That Never Was / Alternate timeline
Two cosmonauts conducting a spacewalk to replace damaged piece of equipment mounted on the outer hull of the Ambition 2 spacecraft.
Ambition 2 / Mars-Phobos
In the mid 80s, international cooperation between USSR, USA, Japan and a few European countries resulted in a follow-up to successful Ambition 1 mission from a few years earlier. This time the goal was to visit and explore one of Mars moons, Phobos, in hope to find a suitable place for a permanent base on its surface, which would be built by the crew of Ambition 3, mission that would launch in late 1980s.
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As always, prints of my artworks are available in my print shop at Artstationand at Displate.com
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Mars 2020 Perseverance mission has launched today on Atlas V rocket. In February 2021 the rover will reach Mars and begin a new chapter in the exploration of the Red Planet.
Learn more about the mission here.
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As always, prints of my artworks are available in my print shop at Artstationand at Displate.com
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Far future / fictional spacecraft
Something simple this time.
Swordfish IV spacecraft performing an acceleration burn.
As always, prints of this or other artworks are available in my print shop at Artstation and if you prefer metal plates, you can get them at Displate.com
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Fictional mission
It’s been a while since the last post, so here’s the fresh one - just a couple of astronauts exploring Mars in their mighty rover.
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You can get my prints on metal plates at Displate.com
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Some updates coming up (last two photos in this set is a sneak peek of the new artwork)!
For now, I wanted to let you know that there’s a great Black Friday offer going on at Displate.com, you can get prints of my artworks on metal plates. And for each print sold, they’re planting 1 tree!
Here’s the link to my profile at Displate.com
And don’t forget to use code BLACK for up to 41% discount :)
See you soon with the new artworks, have a great Thanksgiving!
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Space exploration / fictional / interstellar exploration
ASV Swordfish IV crew is placing sensors and scientific equipment in a star system 2 light years from an exploding supernova. This experiment will provide tons of valuable data, as this setup will operate at least until the shockwave reaches it, and hopefully after that as well. Collected data will help to understand how these cosmic explosions affect nearby star systems.
You can now get this artwork and my other prints at displate (prints on metal)andartstation (posters, canvas, art prints).
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I’m working on a premium collection of prints, limited high quality runs, individually signed and numbered, including some exclusive artworks. If you would be interested in that kind of stuff, please drop me an email at either [email protected] or [email protected] and I’ll let you know details and add you to the priority list :)
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Finally got a moment to finish a personal piece. Straight from my comfort zone, Port Ariel - a scientific outpost on one of the moons of Uranus, Ariel(obviously).
And a bonus photo of my workspace.
You can get a print of this piece on my society6 print shop, also you can follow me on various social media:
facebook-https://www.facebook.com/maciej.rebisz
twitter-https://twitter.com/voyager212 - general updates
artstation-https://www.artstation.com/mac - art
society6-https://society6.com/macrebisz - prints
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Happy New Year fellow space lovers!
Earth has just completed another revolution around the Sun and New Horizons probe has just made a flyby of Ultima Thule (486958) 2014 MU69,a distant Kuiper Belt Object. While we’re all waiting for close up photos, I’m working on a something special for that occasion. Not sure yet when it’ll be ready, but really wanted to share this little teaser with you, hope you like it!
You can also find it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6i4u5jdkJk
You can prints of my work at my society6 print shop, and feel free tofollow me on various social media:
facebook-https://www.facebook.com/maciej.rebisz
twitter-https://twitter.com/voyager212 - general updates
artstation-https://www.artstation.com/mac - art
society6-https://society6.com/macrebisz - prints
Lately I’ve decided to make a quick remake of one of the very first pieces that started my Space That Never Was project (I think you can guess which one ;)), a bit over 4 years ago.
You can get a print of this piece on my society6 print shop, also you can follow me on various social media:
facebook-https://www.facebook.com/maciej.rebisz
twitter-https://twitter.com/voyager212 - general updates
artstation-https://www.artstation.com/mac - art
society6-https://society6.com/macrebisz - prints
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