Zero-X

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This article is about the fictional spacecraft. For other uses, see 0X.

Zero-X
A futuristic spacecraft with two sets of wings prepares to launch from a runway in a manner similar to an airliner.
The seven-foot (2.1 m) filming model of Zero-X from the film Thunderbirds Are Go
First appearanceThunderbirds Are Go (1966)
Information
AffiliationGlenn Field Spaceport
Spectrum Organisation
Auxiliary vehiclesMartian Excursion Vehicle
Martian Exploration Vehicle
General characteristics
ArmamentsMissile gun (on MEV)
Maximum speed40 miles (64 km) per second[1][2]
PropulsionChemical rockets
Mass11,460 tons[1] or
5,240,000 pounds (2,380 tonnes)[2]
Length1,190 feet (360 m)[1] or
390 feet (120 m)[2]
Width780-foot (240 m)[1] or
250-foot (76 m)[2] wingspan

Zero-X (spelling variants include "Zero X" or "Zero – X") is a fictional Earth spacecraft that first appeared in two of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation productions, the 1966 film Thunderbirds Are Go and the 1967 television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Although publicity material for the various Supermarionation series, and the TV Century 21 comic, made references to connections between the Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet canons, Zero-X is the only official link between the two series.[3]

Fictional history

The first crewed craft to land on Mars, the metallic-blue Zero-X comprises a number of detachable sections. The main body houses the chemical engines which provide the craft with the thrust required for lift-off and the subsequent journey to Mars. The Martian Excursion Vehicle (MEV; later renamed Martian Exploration Vehicle) is attached to the front of the main body where it serves as the spaceship's main control centre during spaceflight. During atmospheric ingress or egress, two remotely controlled "lifting bodies" (self-propelled "flying wing" aerofoils) are attached to the main body at the front and rear of the craft. Finally, a heatproof nose cone with an aluminium exoskeleton protects the MEV during take-off and provides further aerodynamic flow to the vehicle in atmospheric ascent; it is jettisoned just before leaving the Earth's atmosphere, and is the only non-reusable part of the spacecraft.

The lifting bodies act as wings to allow the craft to operate from a runway like a conventional aeroplane, and carry multiple jet engines to reduce the amount of fuel needed for the main body's chemical engines. They separate from the main body when the craft is at a sufficiently high altitude and fly back to base; on re-entry, they rendezvous with the spacecraft and dock with it to again act as wings and provide propulsion in the atmosphere. On reaching Mars, the MEV detaches from the main body, which is left in orbit piloted by a single astronaut, and descends towards the planet's surface. At the surface the MEV extends

caterpillar tracks to negotiate the rocky terrain.[4]

The concept of a reusable first-stage lifting body (or in this case, bodies) boosting a smaller spacecraft to high altitude for more efficient use of its propulsion was in direct competition with the

Thunderbird 3
, which, though nominally more advanced (hinted at because of its secrecy), is still a vertical-ascent rocket.

Zero-X has a total delta velocity of 40 miles per second, a standard acceleration of 1 g, a maximum acceleration of 10 g, and an emergency acceleration of 15 g. It is built by New World Aircraft Corporation, the same company that builds Skyship One.[1]

Appearances

Thunderbirds Are Go

The first crewed mission to Mars ended in failure after the Zero-X spacecraft was accidentally sabotaged by the Hood, who had stowed aboard the craft to photograph its wing mechanisms. The crew managed to escape and two years later a second Zero-X craft successfully reached Mars. However, soon after touching down on the surface, the MEV fired upon a Martian "rock snake" in the belief that it was a lifeless rock formation, provoking retaliation by fire-shooting rock snakes, resulting in the first open combat between humans and extraterrestrials. While the astronauts managed to escape, the lifting body control systems on board the MEV sustained damage during the confrontation, causing the Zero-X to crash upon its return to Earth, landing in Craigsville, United States (roughly 20 miles from its launch site, the fictitious Glenn Field Spaceport). The crew survived, having been saved at the last moment by International Rescue.[4]

In both missions, the Zero-X carried a crew of three with two scientists:

Captain Scarlet

Re-commissioned by the Spectrum Organisation, the Zero-X returned to Mars in 2068 in search of the source of alien signals detected from Earth.(But only the MEV comes into the picture, not the entire Zero-X) The crew's hostile actions led to a "war of nerves" with the Mysterons in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. After tracing the signals to an alien city complex, the mission commander, Spectrum officer Captain Black, gave the order to fire upon the facility after mistaking imaging devices for weapons and fearing they were about to be attacked. Following the destruction, the three-man crew of the MEV witnessed the miraculous re-materialisation ("retro-metabolism", as it is termed in the TV series) of the Mysteron city, and for their act of aggression the Mysterons took control of Black's mind and body as the principal agent of their vengeance.[6] It is never specified whether Black and the crew actually died on Mars. However, when the Zero-X returned to Earth, Black was its only occupant (but this is not seen that in the episode). He vanished upon landing at Glenn Field, and shortly after the Mysterons issued their first threat against Earth.[7]

Although the Zero-X does not appear in New Captain Scarlet (2005), a reference is made to it through the depiction of lifting bodies being used to assist spaceships in entering Earth orbit.

Thunderbirds Are Go (TV series)

The Zero-X appears in an episode of the remake series

Oort Cloud apparently from Jeff Tracy and International Rescue attempts to recover the Zero-X escape capsule believing it to be the key to understanding how he survived and his current situation. After analyzing footage from the escape capsule, they determine that the witnessed explosion was actually an aftershock of the Zero-X's main engine firing at full power and that the Zero-X itself launched into space and subsequently the Oort Cloud at near light speed. The remains of the Zero-X were later discovered partially embedded in a small minor planet
in "The Long Reach, Part 1" where Jeff Tracy cannibalized what he could to create a make-shift shelter inside the control deck and was able to survive for eight years until he was rescued by his sons in a new Zero-X called the Zero-XL.

Tie-in media

A series featuring the adventures of the crew of the Zero-X appeared in the comic

Century 21 Merchandising
.

Filming models

Zero-X was designed by

Filton Airfield.[11]

In 2012, the original MEV filming model, minus the cockpit canopy, was acquired by prop restoration company The Prop Gallery, which commissioned the still-trading Mastermodels to refurbish the miniature that it had built 46 years earlier.[10][12]

Critical response

According to spaceflight historian Jack Hagerty, the way in which the MEV is deployed from the mothership was inspired by both the titular spacecraft of the Andersons' earlier puppet series

lifting bodies do not meet the technical definition a lifting body. He also regards the brevity of the Martian landing as a flaw in the film's plot: "After spending, presumably, many years and billions of dollars mounting this expedition to Mars, all they get for their effort is a couple of hours driving around on the surface." However, he calls the destruction of the Zero-X Mark II "one of the most spectacular crash sequences ever filmed".[13]

Stephen La Rivière, in his book Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future, calls Zero-X "the star of Thunderbirds Are Go", praising Meddings' design and acknowledging its commercial nature: "... cynics would suggest that the various detachable segments (wings and nose cone) had less to do with the storyline and more to do with potential toy manufacturing!"[11] Glenn Erickson of the website DVD Talk considers Zero-X "unwieldy" and aesthetically inferior to Skyship One from the sequel Thunderbird 6 (1968).[14]

Alasdair Wilkins of

2001 [: A Space Odyssey] look like non-stop, thrill-a-minute action." He believes that with the attention to detail given to the various stages of the craft's assembly and take-off, these scenes constitute "launch sequence porn", elaborating: "It's a bunch of people effectively saying, 'Action? Characters? Humour? Nah, forget all that. We know what the people really want to see, and it's clearly the model-work.'"[15] Hagerty states that notwithstanding the quality of Meddings' effects in this sequence, "there are limits to audience patience!"[13] Mark Bould considers the sequence an example of the Anderson productions' "technophilic model-work".[16]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781842224113
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-78521-143-0
    .
  3. ^ Zero-X: Century 21 Tech Talk. 4 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b Thunderbirds Are Go (1966), Century 21 Cinema/United Artists.
  5. ^ Supermarionation: Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds Puppets by Terry Curtis
  6. ^ Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967), Century 21 Television/ITC, Episode 1: "The Mysterons".
  7. ^ Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Audio Adventure, MA-151: Introducing Captain Scarlet.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-852834-03-6
    .
  10. ^ a b "Thunderbirds Are Go – Original Zero-X Filming Miniature Restoration". thepropgallery.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-932563-23-8
    .
  12. ^ "Gerry Anderson – Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Stingray". mastermodels.co.uk. Mastermodels (1983) Ltd. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-0-970760-40-1
    .
  14. ^ Erickson, Glenn (17 July 2004). "DVD Savant Review: Thunderbirds: International Rescue Edition". DVD Talk. Internet Brands. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  15. ^ Wilkins, Alasdair (4 July 2012). "And Now, the Most Ludicrously Over-The-Top Launch Sequence Porn Ever". io9. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  16. ISBN 978-0-521-01657-5
    .
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