Floaty Birb

Hi mastodon, I drew a #spaceship. It's supposed to go to the moon.

#mastoart

Oct 26, 2025 at 9:28pmWeb
Show threadFloaty BirbOct 26, 2025

This moonship is assembled from 7 small launches, all the parts are roughly equal in mass (although I probably got their volumes wrong).

Most of the parts use Liquid Oxygen + Liquid Hydrogen for fuel; it throws away the drop tanks during Trans-Lunar Injection. The propulsion stage has enough fuel to brake into lunar orbit and then to send the crew back to Earth (assuming I did the math right).

The big solar panels also power the refrigeration for the cryogenic fuels.

Show threadFloaty BirbOct 26, 2025

The Lunar Lander also uses cryogenic fuels and is unpressurized, being closer to the minimal Langely Light landers than the more capable Apollo LEM. I gave it something of a hull though. It uses the same engines for descent and ascent, but drops fuel tanks (and the landing structure) on ascent.

The Crew Return Ship is adapted from an orbital ferry vehicle, with a return capsule buried inside. The orbital version has a thinner heat shield and solar panels.