On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams

So I saw this thread on io9.com...

http://io9.com/the-most-beautiful-space-stations-in-the-universe-1489189178

Wondering where they got the "98 levels" for DS9, but otherwise it's a fun debate to watch. Anyone else got favourites of their own?

Despite the phrasing of the opening headline of this particular CBC news article, I notice this particular detail about Radarsat-1: it lasted twelve years longer than planned or expected.

The people who built this satellite did Very Good Work.

Thank you all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/04/09/technology-radarsat-1-problem.html

Happy Gagarin Day!
Happy Yuri's Night!

Blame or praise fajrdrako for this one. She posted a list of her own this morning - or was it last night? - on the subject and it got me thinking. So, in no particular order of importance...

1. The Eagle Transporter, Space: 1999 - a classic workhorse design, it's a proper heir to the roles of the NASA space shuttles of these past three decades. One of the first fictional spacecraft I ever learned to recognize, much less attempted to draw as a kid. The "roll bar" spinal superstructure of the ship was something that always bugged me back then, as I was lazy enough to draw those roll bars as simple lines. I didn't start paying attention to their true nature until years later. Loved the multi-tasking, modular nature of those beasts, too.

2. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D - The starship as work of art. The curves are a bearcat to draw, but it's like a swan or a Canada goose in flight on the TV or movie screen.

3. Millenium Falcon - easier to draw, with all its odd geometric shapes, nooks and crannies. Eccentric in its piratical tendencies, and a true reflection of her crew.

4. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, 2010: Odyssey Two - a pragmatic design for long-range intra-system spacecraft. Loved how Syd Mead worked it out from Arthur Clarke's novel for the movie of the same ilk. One could understand quite easily why the Babylon 5 people cribbed/saluted the design for their Earth Alliance Omega-class battlecruisers.

5. Galactica, Battlestar Galactica(2004-2009). I don't know quite how to explain this one.

I wish I had at least one comics-related example to add in here...

I'd really like to believe that we're going to see something actually get built and regularly used out of this particular announcement from Boeing.

How long has it been since we've heard from PlanetSpace about that Cape Breton spaceport proposal?

Well. I go out for the early evening to attend the city's transportation services open house at the Orléans Rec Centre on Youville and Jeanne d'Arc and the world gets a little busier.

My friend Chris Miller's launched a blog to go with his update of the DCU timeline theory site I told you about earlier. I've got a feed set up for it: smartmemes. Add it or visit the site yourself. At the very least you'll be entertained by intelligent arguments.

Not unlike what I heard from various parties at the Open House. The mayor showed up, as did two of the local members of city council. I hope to post pictures, maybe tomorrow if I'm fast and lucky.

Spacecraft design nut that I am, drawn_ca pointed out something that I didn't want to miss: a blog about that very topic in the entertainment industry, apparently: Concept Ships. Looks cool, and you might find some Galactica goodies if you look carefully! (Warning: Bandwidth-intensive!)

More to follow...