Interplanetary Cargo Transporter - Horizon Clipper

The ICT Horizon Clipper is a Horizon-class Interplanetary Cargo Transporter (ICT) built by BSA Systems for InterCosmos Shipping.

The ship operates on regularly scheduled trips between the Earth-Moon System and Mars, with occasional longer trips out to the asteroid belt and the Jovian System.

Interactive Infographic

Try out the infographic in fullscreen:

Idea:

Since working on a couple other science fiction and space themed projects earlier, I became interested in tackling another spacecraft design.

Now having worked in Blender for a little while, I can feel that my proficiency in the program has steadily improved over time. In particular, I was curious trying my hand at another large spacecraft style project, to see how I would approach it with my latest understanding of the software, as well as better practices in 3D modeling.

The idea for the Horizon Clipper came as an extension to my cargo lunar lander model that I made earlier. For that project, I designed a standardized cargo container which would hold an ISO Type Shipping Container. I decided to use that design as the basis for this larger cargo transporter.

The Horizon Clipper would be the equivalent of a large cargo container ship, capable of carrying a large number of containers to far off destinations. At docks, the containers would be transferred onto smaller ship and landers that would take them to their final destination.

Process:

Work on the spacecraft started with the crew accommodation and the propulsion section. I put together and created the cylindrical design of the crew module and other related facilities. This was followed up with a design for the spine and truss that would run along the whole ship. The initial design was done as a singular piece and was then iterated over using a modifier.

Below the accommodation is the propellant and cooling section of the ship. Using similar principles to the design of the crew modules, I created the propellant tanks and the structural scaffolding that integrated into the spine of the spacecraft.

While working on different areas of the spacecraft, I bounced around between modeling and adding materials and textures to relevant areas. When some locations reached a point where I felt not much else could be done with the modeling, I focused on creating and using procedural materials to color in the parts. I personally found this non-linear workflow kept me moving along with the project. If I had focused entirely on the modeling first, and then the materials, I think I would have burnt out on the project a little.

While working on the model, I had a good idea for what I wanted from the crew and propulsion section of the ship. However, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do for the cargo section of the ship.

Originally, I intended for the design to be singular body, with the cargo section directly integrated with the accommodation.

But as I started working with the model, I thought some more about the design, in particular “how would a vehicle of this kind work in the type of world I’m putting it in?”

I decided that the more interesting idea was to separate the cargo section from to accommodation/propulsion. Instead, the ‘Horizon Clipper’ would be a kind of barge tug or tractor trailer, where the cargo section is coupled to the main ship for whatever mission is required. The idea behind this is that the ship would pick up cargo at one port, take it to another and then leave it there as it went on other duties.

Following working on the main ship, I turned my attention to the cargo section and then the forward shield. These were then put together to make the whole spacecraft.

Once I was done with the model and texturing, I created an animation where the ship was rolling as it passed by the camera. This was then rendered out, which, with my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro, took close to a week to complete.

After I finished the animation, I had the idea to put some of the renders and still together into an interactive infographic.

In the past, I typically went into Adobe Illustrator, added some graphic elements and text to the renders, and made a large infographic poster. This time, however, as means to introduce myself to the workings of Figma, I decide to create an interactive one instead.

An interactive experience that used both my renders and other graphic elements has been something I have been meaning to toy around with for a while but had not gotten to until recently. With this new project that had a lot of elements and images, I figured now was the best time to give it a shot.

Conclusion:

This project was one of the most complex and processing intensive projects I have worked on to date. While it took a bit of time, I liked how a lot of it turned out. I’m particularly happy about how I was able to create the designs with a higher level of detail and design intent that I had not been able to accomplish before.

A fair bit of research was put into the design, which involved lots of looking at reference images of spacecraft real and fictional, as well as reading up on future spacecraft and exploration on esoteric science websites.

With this spacecraft done, I now have to two designs that are centered in the same ‘world’ I have been creating. I’m planning some other works and projects down the road that will build out from this creative foundation. With time, as I improve my skills in Blender, I’m hoping to also create my own little hard sci-fi universe in the process.