realizing moonbase alpha eagle earth to moon
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- This segment was inspired by a habitat in Antartica and NASA's Curiosity Rover Mars descent system. As a kid I really was inspired by the production design and photography of Space 1999. Being a nerd, there were elements that bothered me about the Eagle and Moonbase, so in my spare time it's fun to re-work some of the designs.
What I always liked about space 1999 was that all the technology looked like something we could actually make giving it that edge of realism
Indeed! Somewhere in the universe, in a distant solar system, a very close copy of this concept is flying between its host planet and its lone lunar neighbour on a scheduled basis!
Agreed - the ships and set up in Space 1999 actually looks like it was designed by an engineer. The Eagles were very well designed with the exception of the PILOT COMPARTMENT - HUGE BLIND SPOT AND NO LEG ROOM - design does NOT make sense.
Yep
@@terranempire725 I wouldn't necessarily call it nonsensical. If current space flight teaches us anything, it's that spacecraft are flown almost exclusively on instruments, using radar, radio beacons and other active and passive sensors to orient themselves. Any "real" Eagle would operate on those same principles. Basically, the only need for windows or view ports in such a situation would be to visually inspect maybe a piece of debris or a satellite, and that can be done with small view ports. Meanwhile. the recessed position of the window makes it much harder for any debris to actually hit the window, with the conical shape of the command module much more likely to deflect said debris before it hits the window.
I'll give you leg room though. I mean, that's Ryanair levels of bad!
Space 1999 is real sciece fiction as HG Wells wrote about. What is possible in our near future. The problem with real sci fi is that it has been hijacked by trash like star trek ect who sell junk impossible science. They are cash grabs who rely heavily on CGI.
Now THIS is how you make something updated without losing the class and feel of the original concept. Well done!!
Beyond the retracting landing gear and the ablative heat shielding, I also enjoyed how you designed the deceleration and approach procedure toward the Moon. Outstanding!
The creator of this video probably incorporated how the Space Shuttle operated into the operations of the Eagle.
Also, I think that the people who designed the Eagle for the show sized the cargo module to fit into the Shuttle's payload bay.
I can see the plate/tail below the engine assembly being a logical addition for protection of the engines from debris that might be ok kicked up.
The retractable engine bells for the lift rockets? Not so much. Added complexity for what I believe to be little gain.
I like that this is set at the time of Moon Base Alpha's construction. A small quibble though with the construction dozer/tarmac layer. The blade should be little end on the right. As you have it, the plowed material will end up on the tarmac to the left when it would be more sensible to deposit it to the right, back onto the lunar landscape.
Good job overall. 👍
The MPC model kits I put together didn't have this much detail.
You did the flip manoeuvre before Elon Musk came up with his - but seriously, yes, I loved the deceleration into lunar orbit manoeuvre! Well done!!
Awesome re-imagining of the Eagles, one of the coolest ever ships in Sci-Fi.
Space 1999 was a great sci-fi show during it's time. Was in grade school, and it was too much fun to watch. Eye Candy 4da Soul.
I had the eagle 1 toy as a kid. It was almost 3 ft long. The front capsule module detached as well as the rear engine module and you could put them together and make a little eagle. it had action figures and all that stuff. coolest toy ever.
I wanted one of those so badly...
crazy observations me too
Had one too. Would always attach the rear to the front and ignore the middle.
Never had it as a kid - but thanks to eBay, I got one for my 40th birthday!
I had the same eagle too lol
The design of the Eagle was very ingenious. Clearly built for utility, it looked as if it could actually exist. This is a fantastic video. Bravo!
You’re right! Some days I wake up and wonder why there aren’t Eagle Transporters flying between the Earth and our Moon on a regular weekly basis at least. Where did we go wrong? Too much money spent on wars and armed conflict? 😐
Great job! I love the retractable rocket cones as well as landing struts (you never see either in the original series) and the hardened shelters for the Eagles at Moonbase Alpha. Being a USAF veteran who serviced F-16C/D model fighters, seeing the ending sequence with the Eagle pulling into the shelter was like old home week. Thank you for satisfying this old nerd's space-faring fantasy!
Long live Space:1999 !!!
FINALLY somebody illustrates the landing gear actually RETRACTING!
I think that's a great modification, but I'm pretty sure they were never intended to retract on the original, which is why they never showed it.
I've never seen this before, but it does make sense, when we think the Eagle was meant to atmospheric flight, as well as in space.
Already quite cumbersome with those tube pipes and four cubes attached, they surely don't needed the extra drag generated !
If you look at the pods you see cut outs that perfectly fit the landing pads, so to me it always seemd they were meant to, just never shown.
@@svorkoetter Extra cost for the linkage and time. Today, on a computer...
@@svorkoetter Do you remember if they ever show it moving when they land?
beautiful the new computer graphics remake to an old science fiction, when we dreamed of a better world and a perfect future
LIKE THE WAY EAGLE LANDING GEAR PADS WENT UP INTO SHIP...MADE IT MORE LIKE THE HAWK...VERY COOL
I so wanted to be an Eagle pilot, I had the model hanging from my ceiling and fantasized so many times of flying one
Awesome Music and absolutely World Class Eagle , i really absolutely love this Spaceship!!!!
That’s the best use I’ve seen anyone put the 2nd season theme tune to Space:1999 to - An Eagle Cargo variant doing the “Earth to Moon” run. Exquisitely accurate too. Was very excited to see the downward thrusters underneath the craft retract behind the heat shield during the flight out of Earth’s atmosphere.
Pure genius!
Seeing the landing pads retract up into the pods ... damn, that gave the tech nerd in me a serious shiver.
well if you look closely they look like they are designed to do that he merely added the animation.
The eagle didn't retract their landing gear in the show, as far as I can remember.
T. Versteeg - Yeah, but I don't recall the Eagles ever being flown in or out of a Terrestrial atmosphere either.
it was done on nearly every episode lol... it was not shown because the effects team could not do it .
Unfortunately, they did that everytime they visited planets with atmospheres - which always bugged me. ;-)
A very well done rendition! Good job!
I really like the braking burn maneuver.
Found this in my feed, magnificent rendering of a classic! This made my day!
Now this is cool as a person who has watched the original show and even have to show on DVD, this type of thing I would love to see produced as a movie especially with the construction of the moon base
Man do I miss this show!!! Thank god for DVD’s!!! This awesome dedication to this show was great!!! I hope one day they will bring it back.
Fantastic job with great attention to detail based on what is, how the flight would work, and what could have been with the design, retracting legs.
I agree with Argonautx66 this is a common sense additions to an already realistic design.... well done !
Thank you!
Very Nice. I grew up on Space 1999 and have been binge watching the series on DVD lately. I could imagine this as a reboot and it was amazing. Thanks!!
If they were to do a reboot, they would probably just mess it up entirely like they did with Battlestar Galactica!
Great to hear the Year 2 theme!
Love the Year 2 theme - it had a beauty all of its own. You heard the music and it seemed to conjure an image of the lunar surface right there in your mind. It was literally about the moon.
Really enjoyed your work, Ted. Clearly a labor of love!
Thank you Ted! I got so much nostalgic pleasure from this. Surely an Eagle Mk II there, I love the thought and imagination you have used with retractable pads and vertical take-off thrusters. The base and hangar scenes are truly fantastic...I could imagine your ideas being in a reboot of this awesome show. Thank you again :-)
Thanks for your kind words, and I'm impressed that you picked up on all the details!
Nothing realistic about it having take place on the Earth's surface.
Very well done! I love the subtle design changes you've made to the Eagle, to make atmospheric flight a little more possible. None of the Gerry Anderson ships would actually work in real life, but in my experience real life is overrated :-)
Excellent job! I liked the little tail section you added on below the cruise engines (at least, I never noticed it before on the practical model)....kinda adds to the "Eagle" feel.
Brilliant 😻
at 03:00 you show a digger with something on the back hardening the surface...
In 2007 at the international conference of the Moon , I met Prof Lawrence A Taylor, he was (I think) one of the lead geologist's at NASA for the mission's...
Anyway he explained that he put a sample from the Moon in a microwave and it fused together..
His idea was a hand held plate with a low power microwave (10? watt) fusing the surface together.. luna dust is a real problem.. also for fusing block's and the inner surface of cave's which would then be able to have an air tight surface applied.
Did you know this?
Hand clap for the rear lifting body plate
I spotted that too! Kudos to the animator for being so realistic. Also doubles as a heat shield to protect the rear engine assemblies.
I was wondering how necessary that plate really was? Would the engines get a lot of head on reentry, because I think the plasma shockwave would radiate outwards if the Eagle was reentering at a direct head-on angle, instead of a nose-up attitude?
I had an "eagle" toy back in the 70's. Wish I still had it, unopened
As a kid I had two of the Dinky die cast toys, one with the green command module/engines and white crew pod, one with white and cargo pallet. I mixed and matched them so I had a proper all-white Eagle.
I appreciate the financial advantage of having both unopened. On eBay both together would set me back $200. But I wouldn't trade all the fun and memories I had with those Eagles for $200 or even $2000. Maybe $20000!
Nicely done!
They never did the deceleration burn like that. Always assumed the used the RCS thrusters on overdrive.
I love the internal stuff you did at 2:37, and I'd *LOVE* to see more of that, if you ever decide to do an internal Moonbase Alpha tour, I'm in. Particularly if you use some of the Moonbase Alpha Techncal Manual expansions done by Keith Young. Those were brilliant!
Great video. Loved the modernized LCD interior. The atmospheric apliqué for the bottom of the cargo Eagle was also brilliant. Would be neat if someone gathered some lookalike actors to make a fan-film sequel to the Space: 1999 series.
wingsley didn't get Martin Landau daughter and Bobby Reigns daughter Julie Landau starring it I'm sure she'll be glad she used to play the vampire Drusilla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer she will probably f****** honored to do it in memory of her mother and father
Great work awesome remake on the sound track and Eagles !
I'm a really BIG FAN after seeing this !
I love this great work!!!
Thank you!
The eagle did the flip to decelerate.
Speeded up, or crushed real speed.
Very well done reimagining! I grew up with the original series and you've done some great modern updates. I like how the under-body engines and landing struts retract, and how the back engines actually light up providing thrust. Neither of those things was ever shown in the original series. Cool how you updated the interior of the base with led screens to show the present-day technology.
Years before Ikea showruooms, there was Moon Base Alpha. Seriously, amazing graphics and brilliant music.
Keith Wilson's production design for season 1 was so carefully considered - it was very inspiring.
At last, the landing gear fully retracts with thrusters GREAT IDEAS.
Excellent, logical and much needed revisions to the Eagle! I was always bothered by the very things you revised that should have been obvious even back then... or at least, I thought so back then. Keep up the excellent work. I hope to see more of this.
The Eagle was fine stock. The belly pan is unnecessary weight and looks silly.
It's dumb as hell
Amazing work! I love your modular construction depiction. Valient effort to make sense of the eagles flying into atmospheres.
One of the most realistic space vehicles of any science fiction show rockets in the rear RCS thrusters all over it
Damn fine work!
Excellent job, Ted! As a fellow space enthusiast, I can see that you noticed what the flaws in the original "Space:1999'" Eagle were and corrected them. Special shielding under the engines to enable safe reentry, retraction of both the landing struts and exhaust nozzles for the same purposes -- excellent modifications on your part. Awesome! I think this does you tera-tons of credit, Ted. In fact, if Gerry Anderson came back from the dead, I'm sure he would walk up to you and shake your hand as he said, Jolly good, Ted!" But since that's not likely, I'll give you my salute to your ingenuity -- Jolly good show, Ted!
My favorite is the laser paver.
Love how the struts ascend. Always thought it would have looked cooler while flying on the show that way.
Agreed, I'm sure that was the original intent, but when they were filming - time & budgets...
I see you added heat shields to the Eagle. Makes sense for entering an atmosphere. Loved seeing the early stage modular construction of Moonbase Alpha!
GREAT work! like it!
Thanks a lot!
you are welcome!
Love the retractable gear - it always seemed like that would be a feature on the Eagles. Nice to see it turned into reality here.
Great job! I love the launch sequence. This is a great look apt Moonbase Alpha under construction (maybe 1991 their time).
I like the better "Thunderbirds" style loading bay system, stored external or deep internal.
EXCELLENT!!
Thank you!
An amazingly well done technical visualization of a classic show! Bravo!
Nice job
The green running light is on the right, starboard. Red on the left, port. Other than that. Perfect.
Fantastic, thank you for this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic job and good film-making! Loved the retracting landing gear and retracting thrusters. The halfway-point flip-over maneuver was also excellent, giving it a nice Expanse type of semi-scientific accuracy. On the story front, a really nice surprise to follow the cargo, and reveal its purpose for a brighter future. Finally, then end credits snapping into freeze-frame really caught the feel of the titles of the original series. Well done!
Thanks very much!
Like how the legs retract into the pods. They should’ve done that on the series. It make more sense. This is how the show should’ve been done. I’d love to see more.
Very nice. Modular payload is like the space shuttle. But I keep waiting to hear Tom Jones sing "Its not unusual." Just saying.
Well done video! I appreciate it very much. Very good the moonbase Alpha interior at 2:38.
Thank you.
if the series was made today I the series would've last longer
Gerry Anderson said itself that Space 1999 failed due cast breakup in the middle of the second season (especially the conflict between Martin Landau and Barbara Bain heavily contributed to its cancellation) so it came a moment when they decided that enough is enough and shut it down...
But who knows... maybe today, with a new, more sensible cast and of course slightly better script (not as wooden as the original one) this series could in fact last more than two seasons?
I made a model of the Eagle as a kid in 1975. Years later, when I was away in college, my mom gave all my models away to my nephews (who completely destroyed them). That was a huge blow.
I absolutely love the eagle. It truly is a thing of beauty. Nice work
Is it just me or do these ships actually make sense in terms of being achievable? NASA----Sit up an pay attention!
There's ship concept that look similar( look up the ALPACA and XUES lunar lander) but an Earth Surface to Lunar surface rocket would require advanced nuclear engines, which we don't have, or a truly massive rocket
That old clunker couldn't pull itself out of Earth's gravity well unless they strapped the same shit to it that they used on the space shuttle.
Everything about this looks completely feasible to me personally. Gerry Anderson was a man ahead of his time.
Love the Eagle design, cannot fathom how it would stand up to the resistance forces of mach+ flight.
Really well done. I appreciate the evolutionary concepts you applied to the Eagles with retractable landing gear and undercarriage rockets.
I always loved the eagle more than any other space ship or shuttle.
I REALLY LIKED your aerodynamic mods to the Eagle to make it a more realistic Earth - to - Moon shuttle. Of course, even with the fusion-thermal-engines which I read somewhere that the Eagles were supposed to have, I doubt that even a one-way run from Earth's surface to the Moon would be possible without more obvious propellant tankage being included in the Eagle's design. Different story, though, if used as the second stage of a reusable booster/Eagle combination (I favor the 1st stage of the Saturn V: there were proposals in the 1970s to make it reusable - and of course, it still seems to be operational in the "Space, 1999" "universe" - as seen in Dr. Bergman's office, and as components of the spaceport depicted in the vicinity of the Moon). Refueled on the Moon, and returning to Earth equipped with your heatshields - either aerobraking into Earth orbit to rendezvous with Earth orbital stations - or directly to Earth's surface - I believe it would work! Very well done, and intriguing; I look forward to seeing your future work!
I believe starship booster could do it 👍
I didn't realize the second season music had those extra chords. They were beautiful!
You can see out of the cockpit lower quarter panels, very much like in many choppers, so you should see light shining out from within all four windows if you're looking at the thing from frontish angles.
When I was working on the cockpit, and if I were a pilot, I would want those lower panels to be windows. But to address the show's canon, I kept the lighting dark on the lower windows.
I built an Eagle in KSP that worked fully. You could bring cargo modules to it just like in here. In fact, you can do all of this in KSP.
Very beautiful work, the eagle shuttle looks like it could be made with today's technology.
I always wondered where the fuel was stored.
In the spheres next to the base of the main engines.
The idea spurred NASA’s space shuttle.
I am so glad there are new people picking up this great show, not just us old timers, now the next show you should work on is the adventures of the galaxy rangers.
As cool as this is, that Eagle would have needed some solid fuel rocked boosters to escape Earth's gravity. Otherwise, pretty cool
They probably ran on tabasco.
That's cool that you made the landing gear retractable.
You all want to know something, I think that when it finally comes down to building a real moon base, it might look something very close to this one, why not,..? The design work is already, there,..! Q: What do you, all, think,..????
Epic ! Really follows the style of the original series but with a few really nice extras.
Very cool. I loved space 1999. The Eagle is one of my favorite sci fi ships. Only one minor bit of criticism. The navigation lights are reversed. Red goes on left side of vehicle, green on right. Just remember the phrase “Red Right Returning” if the observer sees red on their right, green on left, the vehicle is returning to them.
Thanks! Yes, my goof, hopefully I will have time to fix it someday.
The Eagle design is best fit for moon maneuvers instead of earth launch without extra fuel and booster attached like the space shutle
Fun to watch. Also, reminded me that the second season theme music is pretty good in its own right, but I tend to forget because of how much I love the first season theme.
Kudos ... Keeping the fundamentals of the series 👍🏻
NASA -Artimis,Take notes NASA these guys have left you back on earth
Great video! I like your concept of using wheeled surface-trolleys to move cargo modules and Eagles about. Even though Space: 1999 obviously depicted the liberal use of artificial gravity and anti-gravity, that would just as obviously require considerable power consumption. Nice to think they would also employ a lower-power alternative. Also, I like the idea of launch pads where everything to mounted on the lunar surface as a way to get the moonbase construction started. (Although I think the idea of the TV show's hydraulic-lift facilities and underground hangar-bunkers was also very logical.)
Your 3D work is incredable
Fun video. Something to consider... Port wine is red wine, just as PORT is the left side of a ship. I'd switch the red and green lights around(Y)
Excellent! Thank You for this!
Incredible. I was ten when I watched this. I'm 57 now, go figure.
Very nice animation. That theme tune was probably the only good thing to come out of the second series.
Thanks. I've gotten some criticism for using the year 2 music, but I think it works pretty well for this animation.
I really liked this video. I looks just like one of those promotional video for yet to be funded spacecraft. The fact that the lunar base facilities look different from those on the show adds to this. It is as if the Eagle vehicle was being proposed while Moonbase Alpha was still in the planning stages.
Nice video ! Space 1999 can be dated (by almost 20 years now), but I think the UK deserved a brand new production to celebrate this great series !
Love the design work done but I have to think that a totally above ground Alpha would be very vulnerable to micro meteorites, solar storms and of course Alien Attack!
Nice job... I have also relied heavily on their design as a Plausible space program, within our present resources. Now let’s get to it!!! Gravity is another subject altogether!!!
Very cool :) NERD NOTE: with navigation lights the green is on the starboard side, red on the port. :)
Yikes! Thanks for pointing that out. I thought I had checked - apologies!
No worries. Keep up the good work :)
Right, Right, Returning.
If you see red on the right, it is coming toward you.
Easier one to think of.... Red is Port (What colour is Port wine?)
I just remember red is left, green is right.
One of my favorite series growing up. That, and UFO. Collected both sets on DVD. And own a Collectors item of Commlock and Stun Gun. i wish the series had lasted longer!
Loved the Camlock security protocol to access certain area's
Very well done love how the eagle model looks. Wow and the moon base and the music very well done I am a true fan of space 1999 magnificent work.😊 😄