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ESA - Ariane 5 - Hermes Space Shuttle Concept

Please do not re-post this item without my permission.

If you clicked on this blueprint thinking it was a blueprint of the Hermes mothership from 'The Martian' then you have come to the wrong place.

This is a blueprint of ESA's Hermes Space Shuttle concept from the late 80s/ early 90s that would have been launched on the Ariane 5 heavy launch vehicle (which does fly).

If you don't know what the Hermes looks like in IRL google it.

HOW TO FLY

1. Enter flight seat on the right side of the spacecraft
2. Press the remote button, this will show a timer block on the hotbar called START.
3. Press the timer to start the automatic flight to space.
4. Whilst flying the rocket may have a minor case of 'Clang'. Don't worry. Make sure that you angle the rocket and space shuttle towards space as it can drift slightly.
5. Once in space the craft will undock itself from the centre core. Do whatever you want to do in space.
5. When you want to go back press 9 to disconnect from the Orbit Module. Make sure you do this in the Earth's gravity influence.
6. The craft will fall quickly but it will be fine so long as you keep it level.
7. When landing toggle the landing gear to deploy. You can land this craft like a real plane, but you must be at a speed of 15m/s or lower so that the landing gears don't break. You must also land on level ground. If you don't want to land like a plane you can land like a helicopter.

The Hermes was a proposed space shuttle by ESA during the 1970s and was awarded a contract in 1987. The Space Shuttle would have the ability to carry three astronauts into space and spend weeks in space. The Orbit module of the spacecraft would provide primary propulsion and power thanks to solar panels that would deploy once in orbit. After completing its mission the vehicle would detach its orbit module and re-entered the atmosphere before landing like a glider on a normal runway. The general shape and design of the craft was similar to the proposed but never flown X-20 Dyna Soar (fantastic acronym, and yes I have realised I need to build that too now that I have mentioned it).

However the vehicle never came into being as the project suffered from delays and funding issues. Also in 1992 the Soviet Union had disbanded and Russia had made a partnership with ESA. As a result the Hermes was cancelled with only a few concepts models of the shuttle been made. At one point in 2010s there was a proposal to relaunch Hermes as a sub-orbital vehicle, however this did not come into being either.

I should quickly state that this is a vehicle for creative use only. All blueprints used come from Star Core's Rocket Replicas.

Enjoy!

For more rockets such as the the SpaceX Starship or Boeing Starliner check out Star Core's Rockets collection.