Big Falcon Ship. Infographics

Landing legs

Four deployable legs at the base of the vehicle allow for a vertical landing.

Engines

The ship is propelled by 7 engines;

4 vacuum Raptors to operate in space and boost the ship between orbits, and 3 smaller Raptors for landing back on solid surfaces.

Propellant Tanks

Together, liquid Methane and liquid Oxygen are the fuel that powers the Raptor engines. Smaller tanks hold the propellant for landing.

Delta Wing

The small delta wings include a split flap for pitch and roll control in a variety of atmospheric conditions. This allows the ship to safely manuever itself with a range of different payload masses in the nose.

Crew Cabin Windows

Every crew compartment is fitted

with a single porthole for exterior viewing.

Main Windows

Two long stripes of shutterable window panels allow natural sunlight to enter the communal area to establish a natural day – night cycle for the crew.

Heat Shield

The underbelly of the ship is coated in heat resistant tiles. These tiles need to withstand the conditions of atmospheric re-entry from interplanetary velocities and be reusable. For re-entry at high velocities the shield is expected to partially ablate.

Crane

Once on the Martian surface

cargo must be carefully hoisted down from the bay to the ground.

A heavy duty swivelling crane feeds out pallets via the cargo bay doors.

Toilets

The subject of endless jokes and questions, the space toilet applies suction where and when it is needed. Waste is reprocessed in the life support system and is used for irrigation in the hydroponics lab.

Hydroponics Farm

Far away from Earth the lack of fresh food becomes demoralizing. The hydroponics farm is more to keep spirits up than it is to provide a sustainable food source.

The Bridge

All critical ship functions are handled on the bridge. Control terminals allow for manual take-over of navigation and ship systems. Communications with Earth are sent from and received here.

Telecommunications Array

This steerable parabolic dish allows for nearly continuous high frequency communication with Earth. A low-gain secondary antenna allows for communication in an emergeny if the ship is out of control.

Guidance Navigation and Control

Reaction control thrusters orient the ship for docking procedures, engine bums, and atmospheric re-entry. Navigation computers, radio timing, and star-trackers keep the ship positioned and oriented in space.

Storage

Larger personal affects and items which may need to be retrieved frequently can be found in the forward storage compartment. Everything else goes in the cargo bay.

Communal Area

One large open volume dominates the interior ship layout. The area allows for communal activities such as eating, sports and play, musical performances and movie nights. Exercise and kitchen equipment can be found in this area – and perhaps most importantly, the coffee machine.

Showers

Water is pulled through the shower room by powerful fans. Waste heat from the life support system goes into providing hot water. Capacity for up to 4 crew.

Sleeping Quarters

Each crew member has a personal space equipped with bed, illumination, a portal window to the outside, electricity and connection to the ship net. Removable partitions allow for crew to bunk together and expand their private space if desired.

Airlock

Ship exterior inspection and repair must be carried out by space-walks. The airlock is used to allow astro­nauts to step out of the ship while maintaing pressurization elsewhere.

Cargo Bay

All large cargo for Mars is stored here. ISRU equipment, rovers, suits, solar panels, all the gear needed to start a new life far away.

Life Support System / Service Bay

The ship’s most important systems are the life support equipment. The temperature is regulated, the water filtered and recycled from waste, the air made breathable once again.