Flying above the surface of a planet that I am exploring.
Using the rover to explore down on the surface.
Galaxy
Exploring the Galay
Fumaroles
While exploring planets I often find active volcanic fumaroles. These are openings in the planet’s surface that emit steam and volcanic gases, such as sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. They can occur as holes, cracks, or fissures in areas where magma has risen into the planet’s crust without erupting.
This video shows the sort of thing I have found.
Here is another video of my discoveries.
A video of the rover returning to the ship.
REDRAY’s Cockpit
This is the cockpit of my spaceship showing the view from the pilot’s chair. Lots of windows to get a good view of the outside and you can see the planet I’m orbiting.
Cockpit
The main controls are a joystick to control the direction of the ship and a throttle to control the speed. These can’t be seen in this photo. The console you can see contains all the instruments to show where you are and the Head Up Display (HUD) displays information from the various sensors.
CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO SEE A BIGGER VIEW.
The circle in the middle of the console is like a radar display and shows everything around the ship. It also shows the ship’s speed and most importantly the heat of the ship. If it gets too hot from being near a star then the ship can be destroyed.
On the right are displays to show the status of the ship’s engines, shields, etc. On the left is more detail on where we are and what planets or space stations are near by.
The blue HUD lines give information on the guns and scanners.
Crashed Spaceship
Now that I have a Rover Vehicle to explore planets I have started to find lots of exciting things. For example here some videos of a crashed spaceship I discovered.
This is the first discovery of the Crashed ship.
Driving the Rover towards the crash site.
The crashed ship, notice REDRAY in the background.
Closeup view of the crashed ship.
Krait Phantom
After some months of flying courier jobs I finally had enough money to buy and equip an new spaceship. I did see three lots of pirates and managed to escape from two of them. But the first pirate captured me and stole my cargo, which why it has taken me so long to earn all the money I needed.
New Ship
So here is the new Red Ray sitting on my launchpad in the space station. I bought this bigger ship as I wanted to use a Rover Vehicle to drive on the surface of the planets I visited. So the ship had to have docking space for the Rover.
The ship is 73 metres long by 72 wide and 15 high. That is huge!
Approaching a Planet
I fitted a Fuel Scoop so that I can collect fuel for the ship from a suitable star. So I don’t have to go to a space station to buy fuel and can spend a long time exploring.
I also fitted lots of scanners to help me find good planets and to find interesting sights on any planet I visited.
Earning a Living
I passed my pilot exam and can now go exploring!
But first I need to earn some money to pay for food, fuel, and some additional equipment for my ship. This means I need a job.
The best job to start with is probably as a Courier taking packages or post between the various space stations and planets in the local star system. The only danger is from pirates who might steal my cargo. If they succeed I get fined by the courier company for the stolen cargo. I could fit guns to my ship and try to fight them. But the local system is fairly safe and I will run away as soon as I see any pirates.
So that’s what I will do until I have got enough money.
Here is a video of my current home station. Note how it is slowly revolving to give artificial gravity inside the station. In space there is no gravity and so people float around. The rotation of the station pushes people outwards so that they can walk about.
And here is a video taken inside the station as I fly towards the exit straight ahead.
Buying Equipment
I have always wanted to explore the galaxy and applied to join NASA, but they wouldn’t take me as I didn’t speak American.
Red Ray
So I decided to buy my own small spaceship and go off to explore our galaxy on my own. Well that’s how it all started. But of course I bought bigger and bigger spaceships and flew farther and farther into the galaxy.
I bought a spaceship that we named Red Ray, which I fitted out for long distance travel. The ship is about 56m long by 51m wide and 20m high. This is about the same size as your house! Here is a photo of it.
My Spacesuit
Then I got fitted for a spacesuit and after trying lots of different styles I decided on this one. The photo was taken in the cabin of my spaceship.
So now I needed to complete my space pilot training, get my licence, and I would be ready for some exciting adventures!
