Zero-X
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Added: 3 years ago
From: QuackVideo
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  • Oh to be ten again and living in 1966

  • Burt Rutan to try something similar to get stuff into orbit.

  • That was pretty cool! In a perfect world, Gerry's shows would have been on a lot longer and there would have been many, many spin offs. Thanks for giving us a glimpse!

  • @zathras9now You're most welcome :)

  • @zathras9now You're most welcome

  • Does this not remind you of the end of Lylat Wars? =]

  • I doubt very much that Zero X would have ever cleared the runway, let alone get into space. Given that an aircraft generates lift from the curvature of the wings, with lifting body 1 being at right angles to the main body, I cannot see how during lift off how the craft would generate any lift at all. Especially when lift body 1 cannot sustain the spacecraft during re-entry on its own.

    Bloody good looking spacecraft though.

  • @dancpfc I've actually built a model of the Zero-X and I can assure you that the lifting body wings do have a curved upper surface. furthermore, the amount of lift from the bernoulli effect is actually quite small; most of the lift is generated by the airflow being deflected downwards by the lower surface of the wing and any flaps. The reason that the Zero-X crashed was because Lift Body 1 was only providing around 50% of the necessary lift, the balance being provided by Lift Body 2. .

  • @QuackVideo That I understand, my comment was derived from the position of Lift Body 1's wings during lift off. As you say lift is generated by the difference in air pressure between the surface and the bottom of the wing. My question is how can no. 1 generate the lift necessary for lift off, if the majority of the wing area is at right angles to the main body?

  • @dancpfc It is PRECISELY BECAUSE the wings are at right angles to the fuselage (and thuse the direction of motion of the vehicle through the air) that the lifting bodies generate lift. if they were aligned along the long axis, they would generate negligible amounts of lift

  • @dancpfc I doubt it would have got off the ground as well as there wouldn't have been anything to attach the strings to :D

  • Whoever designed Zero X was very up on current technical research at that time. The technobabble of the crew fit totally with many concepts being investigated by BAC at the time. For example, the lift bodies have a total of 16 engines which equate to Rolls Royces concepts for turborockets, which are ramjets with a rocket powered turbine to produce power for take off. The turbine is switched off at mach1 and the engines run as ramjets up to mach 5. Zero X is a very viable concept.

  • @Alembic25 That was Derek Meddings for you. He really knew his stuff

  • @QuackVideo What was Derek Meddings's background? Did he have likes to the aerospace industry?

  • omg i'm gonna die from nostalgia overdose...

  • @lydstyrke LOL!

  • Very nice - the original C21 comic stories would have made a really good series. Oh Gerry, what could have been...

    Incidentally, where did you find the "clean" copy of the Zero X theme? I wasn't aware there had been a soundtrack of the original score recording.

  • @PanpipeLover Let's just say I have friends in low places...

  • Niall1991BRFC

    I agree and that not the only crossover did you know Gordon from Thunderbirds served in the WASP for a time. through I got the information from a book about Thunderbirds/Stinray and Captain Scarletts so I know it isn't 100 per cent cannon but it a cool thought

  • @loonytunescrazy The Information was invented by the publishers of TV 21 in an attempt to tie together the various series into one cohesive 'Anderson Universe'

  • @QuackVideo

    Thanks for correcting me it still pretty cool through. any know the name of the rouge state that opposed the world govement in Gerry Anderson comic veruse wiuch feature an intersting crossover with Thunderbirds/Stingray Ray/ Captain Scarlet and Fireball

  • @loonytunescrazy Bereznik

  • Brilliant idea for a video, always got excited about the assembly of Zero-X! But does anyone think that its kinda weird how the small landing vehicle from Zero-X is seen in Captain Scarlet destroying the Mysteron complex which starts the 'war with Earth'? Gerry Anderson crossover there.

  • i remember the assembly of the plane it amazed me

  • I absolutely love this - really cleverly edited. It looks totally authentic - if only it was! Great work.

  • This is very good, it reminds me of the intro to Star Trek Voyager

  • A friend of mine once called Gerry Anderson's works, "Eng.Porn". (Engineering) As in, "What could I do with lots of imagination, and a totally unlimited budget?"

    I wonder how many kids from the 60's and 70's were inspired to become Engineers, thanks to Fireball XL5, Stingray, and Thunderbirds?

    Thank you, Mr. Anderson! You made the world a better place.

    It's a shame, there are no equivalent shows for kids today. 'Cause, a little brainwashing, isn't always a bad thing.

  • He really inspired me. Over time i realised how great an idea like the Zero x was. I have been designing a Zero x look-a-like. So far on the ground it weighs 2.72 megatons and in space after dropping the deadweight and using up its aeroplane fuel and rocket fuel it weighs 1.71 megatons. I am doing a HNC course in mechatronics at college. Gerry Anderson is awsome in his work.

  • @G777GUN = Well, good luck with that project. Still, I have to think that atmospheric, hyper-sonic docking, with the wing/engine modules, may not be the most elegant solution to that particular engineering challenge.

    BTW, what fuels are you using? I ask because, even if you burned pure nitroglycerin, you still wouldn't archive Gerry Anderson levels of power. (AKA: The GAPUC, or, Gerry Anderson Power Utilization Curve.)

  • The wing/engine modules i will detach when my machine goes vertical and re attach in space. There is no way that thing could fly through the atmosphere without plunging like a brick.

    Fuels, well:

    My jet fuel to get me to 40,000ft (powers 16 PW4098) , my liquid fuel to get me to 820,000 ft and my special fuels for the VASIMR engine.

    This is just to give me an idea of what is needed to pull off this project . My VASIMR must get me to mars then back again in under 30 days! thats fast!

  • @skeilak

    Behold. The New Zero X.

    /watch?v=wligUSqgBEY

  • @G777GUN : Spectacular!

    Very well done.

    I recommend everyone take a look.

  • @skeilak

    Thats it dude. All 4 parts are now uploaded.

  • @G777GUN : Terrific!

    I'll definitely check out parts 3 and 4. Then I'm sure I'll have some comments. (I've already got two questions in mind. *S*)

  • I always loved this music. The sense of trepidation, exploration and epic machinery.

  • Anderson and his crew were so far ahead of the curve in aviation technology it was scary.

  • Oh my word! My mum went to London to queue for hours to get me the Zero-X toy. I can't imagine how much it would be worth now if I hadn't sawn it up and spliced it with my Thunderbird toys to make my own spaceships ...

  • so British,nice

  • Hmm I remember this, as I recall Anderson did try to get the ball rolling for a series but no one was intreasted in spending the 1-2 million production costs

  • The rock snakes of Mars could make a comeback! :3

  • With enough thrust...

  • Zero-X looks too heavy to ever take off! lol

  • does too

  • Well, ya know what they say, "if ya put enough thrust behind it, it'll fly."

  • I think you done a great job mate, and id think that Zero X would make a great spin off show.

  • Gerry is still very much alive but the actual rights to 'Thunderbirds are Go' belong to MGM

    The Rights to the TV series belong to Granada Media and it would cost an absolute fortune just to buy the rights to make a new series, let alone actually make the programme. Thats why we had 'New Captain Scarlet' rather than new episodes of the classic series

  • @QuackVideo But Derek Meddings is gone, and he designed many of the concepts seen in TB as well as most of the other Gerry & Sylvia Anderson projects, in addition to 70s Bond and Superman films. (also Batman and Pink Floyd concerts). Rest in Peace, Derek. Your ideas live on forever.

  • I'm sure Gerry is still with us as I've heard that he wants to buy back the rights to Thunderbirds to redo it in the same way as the New Captain Scarlet episodes.

  • Could I use this idea and titles for my series?

  • what series would that be?

  • Zero X?

  • Is it me or Does Zero X look a bit over engineered lol :P

  • That is brilliant. Where did you get the instrumental theme from?

  • I have a friend who is custodian of the original tapes

  • Clever. The assembling of Zero-X on the runway is still mesmerizing after all these years

  • Looking at this, I'm not sure Zero X would actually get off the ground!

  • In addition to videography, I'm also a keen modelmaker with a scratchbuilt model of the Zero-X to my credit. I calculated that it would be over 700 feet long with a wing span of 750 feet. I reckon it would fly, providing there was enough thrust

  • CCCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL­!!!!!!!!!!! Can we see some photos?

  • It doesn't seem that the lifting bodys are that wide across.

  • From the drawings I have, yes, they are

  • tradational rocket and jet technology could provide enough thrust, however the sheer volume of feul needed for that would make it nearly impossable

    -you'll a more concetrated feul scource; like somehow controlling the output from an atomic bomb into a steady thrust.

  • Well, Captain Travers refers to something called an Arc-Jet engine which suggests some form of plasma drive

  • awesome!

  • I had this on video and once attempted to make the Zero-X out of Lego. It almost worked, but the nose cone was too heavy!

  • So did I but the biggest problem was trying to persuade Dad that i needed a hole in the bedroom floor so that thehangar door could descend properly :D

  • I remember reading it in TV21! What a spacecraft. Totally over the top! I loved it and still do.

  • I'm loving this. Great edit.

  • thank you

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