- Space Dock (Space: 1999)
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Space Dock
Space Dock (aka Interplanetary Space Station, Meta Probe Launch Platform & Centauri Space Station)First appearance "Breakaway" Affiliation Moonbase Alpha Launched June 19, 1982[1] Decommissioned September 13, 1999 General characteristics Registry Earth Maximum speed Orbital Fighters Mark IX Hawks Auxiliary craft Eagle Transporters The Space Dock was a fictional space station in the television series Space: 1999 (1975). Referred to simply as the Space Dock it is also called the Meta Probe Launch Platform in "Breakaway" and the Interplanetary Space Station in "Dragon's Domain" episodes of the series. The popular fan name for the space station, "Centuri", was coined in The Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual and was not used in the series. Although never mentioned in the series itself, it is also believed that a fleet of the Mark IX Hawk seen in the episode "War Games" is stationed on this facility.[2]
In the real world of today, there are proposed plans to build a space dock to function as a type of dry dock or spaceport "making possible the on-orbit assembly and maintenance of large space facilities, space platforms, and spacecraft."[3]
Contents
Mission profile
The Space Dock is used for launching interplanetary missions such as the Ultra Probe (1996)[4] and the Meta Probe (1999)[5], as well as providing a midway point for travellers to and from the Moon. Spacecraft refuelling and maintenance facilities were available, as were rudimentary travellers' amenities (such as lodging and dining) along with accommodations for the crew. During the Moon's breakaway on 13 September 1999, the Space Dock was destroyed by extreme gravitational stress; although the GTV News announcer reports that it, like the Moon, was hurled out of orbit.[5]
History
Under the guidance of the International Lunar Finance Commission, on 2 July 1981 the Space Dock was put under construction in a high lunar orbit. It was completed on 19 June 1982, giving it the opportunity to oversee construction of Earth's Space Research Centre, or Moonbase Alpha, which began in the crater Plato on 3 February 1983.[1]
Design elements
Modular in construction, it consisted of a cylindrical central core, with two sets of four "arms" of varying lengths projecting outward from the "top" and "bottom" of the core. These "arms" of the Space Dock appear to have been Saturn rockets, such as those used in early space exploration. With their standardised control systems, all World Space Commission spacecraft were able to dock at the ports at the end of each arm. In "Dragon's Domain" there was an additional Eagle Transporter landing platform but this was not present at the time of its destruction in "Breakaway". All sections of the installation had windows, and its lack of rotation seemed to indicate it was equipped with artificial gravity.
References
- ^ a b [1] Moonbase Alpha Technical Notebook
- ^ Starlog Magazine, Mark IX Hawk Plans, March 1980, p. 52-53
- ^ Architecting Rapid Growth in Space Logistics Capabilities - Snead, James Michael; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004.
- ^ Space: 1999 episode Dragon's Domain
- ^ a b Space: 1999 episode Breakaway
External links
- Space 1999 - Catacombs - Space Dock
Space: 1999 Characters - John Koenig
- Helena Russell
- Victor Bergman
- Maya
- Alan Carter
- Paul Morrow
- Tony Verdeschi
- Sandra Benes
- Bob Mathias
- David Kano
- Tanya Alexander
Cast Vehicles - Eagle Transporter
- Laser Tank
- Mark IX Hawk
- Meta Probe
- Moon Buggy
- Space Dock
- Super Swift
- Ultra Probe
- Voyager One
Episodes - "Breakaway"
- "Matter of Life and Death"
- "Black Sun"
- "Ring Around the Moon"
- "Earthbound"
- "Another Time, Another Place"
- "Missing Link"
- "Guardian of Piri"
- "Force of Life"
- "Alpha Child"
- "The Last Sunset"
- "Voyager's Return"
- "Collision Course"
- "Death's Other Dominion"
- "The Full Circle"
- "End of Eternity"
- "War Games"
- "The Last Enemy"
- "The Troubled Spirit"
- "Space Brain"
- "The Infernal Machine"
- "Mission of the Darians"
- "Dragon's Domain"
- "The Testament of Arkadia"
- "The Metamorph"
- "The Exiles"
- "One Moment of Humanity"
- "All That Glisters"
- "Journey to Where"
- "The Taybor"
- "The Rules of Luton"
- "The Mark of Archanon"
- "Brian the Brain"
- "New Adam, New Eve"
- "Catacombs of the Moon"
- "The AB Chrysalis"
- "Seed of Destruction"
- "The Beta Cloud"
- "Space Warp"
- "A Matter of Balance"
- The Bringers of Wonder, Part One
- Part Two
- "The Lambda Factor"
- "The Seance Spectre"
- "Dorzak"
- "Devil's Planet"
- "The Immunity Syndrome"
- "The Dorcons"
Production Writers Directors - Ray Austin
- Tom Clegg
- Kevin Connor
- Charles Crichton
- Val Guest
- Lee H. Katzin
- Robert Lynn
- Peter Medak
- David Tomblin
See also Categories:- 1975 introductions
- Fictional space stations
- Space: 1999 spaceships
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