Zero-X
Encyclopedia
The Zero-X is a fictitious Earth spacecraft
that appeared in two of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation
productions. Although publicity material for the various Supermarionation series, and the TV Century 21
comic book, made references to connections between the series, the Zero-X is the only official connection between the two series, appearing in the Thunderbirds
feature film Thunderbirds are GO
(1966) and in the first episode of the next Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
(1967).
, the metallic blue Zero-X spacecraft 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 Exploration Vehicle (MEV) is attached to the front of the main body where it serves as the spaceship's main control center during space flight. During atmospheric ingress or egress, two remotely controlled "lifting bodies" (self-propelled "flying wing" aerofoil
s) 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 takeoff and provides further aerodynamic flow to the vehicle in atmospheric ascent; it is jettisoned shortly after 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 track
s to negotiate the rocky terrain.
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 vertical-ascent rocket doctrine in the 1960s as a means of achieving spaceflight, and ultimately lost out to it, as even the Space Shuttle - which lands as a conventional aircraft - makes a vertical rocket-powered ascent in the 'classical' manner. The Zero-X contrasts in this way with the Thunderbird 3
, which, though nominally more advanced (hinted at because of its secrecy), is still a vertical-ascent rocket.
, U.S., roughly 20 miles from its launch site, the fictitious Glenn Field Spaceport, Nevada
. The crew survived, having been saved at the last minute (quite literally) by International Rescue.
In both missions, the Zero-X was manned by three crew and two scientists:
s in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
. After tracing the signals to an alien facility, the mission commander, Captain Black
, gave the order to fire upon the facility after mistaking scanning devices for weapon emplacements and fearing they were about to be attacked. Following its devastation, the three men crew of the MEV then witnessed the miraculous rematerialisation (retrometabolism, in the language of the television program) of the Mysteron city, and for their act of aggression the Mysterons took control of Captain Black’s mind and body as the principal agent of their vengeance.
It is never specified whether Black and the crew actually died on Mars, but when the Zero-X returned to Earth with Black as its only occupant, he vanished after the craft reached Glenn Field Spaceport, and it wasn’t long after this that the people of Earth received their first threat from the Mysterons from Mars.
Although the Zero-X does not appear in Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet
(2005), a reference is made to it using the lifting bodies for helping spaceships into orbit.
.
line of toys marketed by Century 21 Productions.
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
that appeared in two of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
productions. Although publicity material for the various Supermarionation series, and the TV Century 21
TV Century 21
TV Century 21, also known as TV 21, was a weekly British children's comic of the 1960s and early 1970s. It promoted the many television science-fiction puppet series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions...
comic book, made references to connections between the series, the Zero-X is the only official connection between the two series, appearing in the Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
feature film Thunderbirds are GO
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
(1966) and in the first episode of the next Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
(1967).
Construction
The first manned craft to land on MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, the metallic blue Zero-X spacecraft 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 Exploration Vehicle (MEV) is attached to the front of the main body where it serves as the spaceship's main control center during space flight. During atmospheric ingress or egress, two remotely controlled "lifting bodies" (self-propelled "flying wing" aerofoil
Airfoil
An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
s) are attached to the main body at the front and rear of the craft. Finally, a heatproof nose cone
Nose cone
The term nose cone is used to refer to the forwardmost section of a rocket, guided missile or aircraft. The cone is shaped to offer minimum aerodynamic resistance...
with an aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
exoskeleton protects the MEV during takeoff and provides further aerodynamic flow to the vehicle in atmospheric ascent; it is jettisoned shortly after 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 track
Caterpillar track
Continuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...
s to negotiate the rocky terrain.
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 vertical-ascent rocket doctrine in the 1960s as a means of achieving spaceflight, and ultimately lost out to it, as even the Space Shuttle - which lands as a conventional aircraft - makes a vertical rocket-powered ascent in the 'classical' manner. The Zero-X contrasts in this way with the Thunderbird 3
Thunderbirds machines
The Gerry Anderson Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and the subsequent feature films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 featured a large variety of futuristic air, land and sea vehicles and machines, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek...
, which, though nominally more advanced (hinted at because of its secrecy), is still a vertical-ascent rocket.
Thunderbirds Are GO
The first manned 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 in September 2065. However, soon after touching down on the surface, the MEV was attacked by Martian Rock Snakes. While the astronauts managed to escape, the lifting body control-systems onboard the MEV sustained damage during the confrontation, causing the Zero-X to crash upon its return to Earth, landing in CraigsvilleCraigsville, Virginia
Craigsville is a town in Augusta County, Virginia, United States. The population was 979 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Staunton–Waynesboro Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Craigsville is located at ....
, U.S., roughly 20 miles from its launch site, the fictitious Glenn Field Spaceport, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. The crew survived, having been saved at the last minute (quite literally) by International Rescue.
In both missions, the Zero-X was manned by three crew and two scientists:
- Paul "Skipper" Travers (Captain)(for the overall mission) - Travers, was modelled on Sean ConnerySean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, who was starring as James BondJames Bond (character)Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
at the time Thunderbirds Are GO! was made. - Greg Martin (Space Captain)(for the flight)
- Brad Newman (Space Navigator)
- Dr. Tony Grant (Astrophysicist)
- Dr. Ray Pierce (Astronomer)
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
A further Zero-X mission returned to Mars in 2068 sponsored by Spectrum in search of the source of alien signals detected from Earth. The crew's hostile actions lead to a "war of nerves" with the MysteronMysteron
The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials, native to the planet Mars, which appear in the British science fiction Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet, symbolised by ubiquitous projected green rings and the deep...
s in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
. After tracing the signals to an alien facility, the mission commander, Captain Black
Captain Black (Captain Scarlet)
Captain Black is the fictional nemesis of Captain Scarlet and recurring Mysteron agent in the 1960s British supermarionation science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and its CGI remake Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet...
, gave the order to fire upon the facility after mistaking scanning devices for weapon emplacements and fearing they were about to be attacked. Following its devastation, the three men crew of the MEV then witnessed the miraculous rematerialisation (retrometabolism, in the language of the television program) of the Mysteron city, and for their act of aggression the Mysterons took control of Captain Black’s mind and body as the principal agent of their vengeance.
It is never specified whether Black and the crew actually died on Mars, but when the Zero-X returned to Earth with Black as its only occupant, he vanished after the craft reached Glenn Field Spaceport, and it wasn’t long after this that the people of Earth received their first threat from the Mysterons from Mars.
Although the Zero-X does not appear in Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet is a United Kingdom-produced computer-generated imagery action-adventure TV series which debuted in February 2005 as part of the Ministry of Mayhem on ITV....
(2005), a reference is made to it using the lifting bodies for helping spaceships into orbit.
Comics
A series featuring the adventures of the crew of the Zero-X appeared in the comic TV Century 21 and its successors, including CountdownCountdown (comic)
Countdown was a British comic book published weekly by Polystyle Publications - ultimately, under several different titles - between February 1971 and August 1973....
.
Project SWORD
A model of the Zero-X was included in the Project SWORDProject SWORD
Century 21 Merchandising and Century 21 Toys were merchandising companies associated with Gerry Anderson's Century 21 Productions. There was also a publishing line, Century 21 Publications which created the comic strips TV Century 21 and Lady Penelope and a music department, Century 21 Music which...
line of toys marketed by Century 21 Productions.
