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Tereglith

(MOC) - NASA Research Aeroship Indefatigable

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I had the hull pieces from Venice Canal Chase. I had the Balloon from Orient Expedition. What else could I have done, really?

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The latest triumph of NASA's (National Aeroship Science Academy) sustainable research lab, the Indefatigable lives up to its name. The thirty-foot, single-balloon, two-engine, single-prop vessel, crewed by hardy stock the likes of our own Dr. Conrad Percival Griswold Yelvington III, can remain in the air for up to two years at a time conducting important atmospheric research.

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"How is this possible?" you ask. The secret lies in renewing resources constantly. Whenever the Indefatigable travels through a cloud, it collects any moisture which it touches and, thanks to years of complex aerodynamic research, gathers it into rivulets that are easily channeled into the high-yield low-fuel dual steam engines, which power both their own propellers and the large one beneath the ship.

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Our intrepid Dr. Conrad Percival Griswold Yelvington III, graduate of NASA, standing next to one of the Indefatigable's steam engines. He's wearing a high-altitude pressurization helmet, which keeps him able to breath when the Indefatigable travels into rarified atmospheres.

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For those items which are not able to be produced sustainably, the Indefatigable has an extensive cargo hold running beneath the deck and accesible through this fore hatch. Among the cargo manifest are a number of spare engine parts, some spices and seasoning, several dozen pounds of canned spiced ham (to provide additional protein for Dr. Yelvington), and over eight hundred tea bags.

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Our NASA hydroponics lab has developed these plants, the pinacle of botanical engineering. Able to survive solely on the nutrients and moisture to be found at high altitudes, they grow along the side of the ship and provide nutritious fruits for our crewman to eat.

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Here we see the complex machinery which runs the ship's propeller. It is designed with the very latest in metallurgical technology, and the entire system is triple redundant so that it won't break down.

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Our beautiful ship from above, a view which few have the oppurtunity to enjoy. At its cruising altitude it is higher than every other ship currently operating on the planet.

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Above the captain's cabin we see the four birdhouses, which hold the nests of a farmable population of jays. They have been bred to produce several eggs per week, which make for a delicious source of protien for Dr. Yelvington. Or so we assured him. They actually taste quite nasty unless well-seasoned.

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The entire reason that the Indefatibable is in the air is for these small tools of science (which have names that you laymen can't pronounce), which measure complex characteristics of the atmosphere and of astonomical phenomena.

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For repairing engine parts, picking berrys, feeding the birds, or displays of derring-do during potential failures of the Indefatigable (which we are sure will never occur) there is the Extra Vehicular Jetpack, which runs also on steam and can be used for powered flight or sustained gliding. In the event that the propeller should fail and the hull fall away, the EVJ is connected directly to the balloon and the rigging, so that Dr. Yelvington can get to it.

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The 'neath hull, liveried in NASA colors. Makes one proud to be a graduate.

Much larger pictures can be seen in my Flickr stream. At a whopping thirty-six studs long ( :tongue: ), this is my largest MOC to date, so your opinion is certainly welcome.

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What a great MOC....very Jules Verne style of Sci-Fi ! :grin:

I really like the design of this, the doctor looks cool in his bubble helmet !

Great job and I'm a conformist! 'Tereglith' I'm a conformist! ! :sweet:

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Wow, I love every part of this ship, each piece of it is eye catching and very fun to look at! excellent job mate, definitely keep bricking! :thumbup:

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Well first off, sorry for stealing your name. :blush: I was planning and building mine for months (yeah, I'm slow) so I didn't really steal it, but it sure would seem like it! The name is very suitable for lighter-than-air airships; what could me more harder to fatigue than something that uses little or no power to fly? It's why I picked the name sometime last year.

It's a very interesting design, and I love the story. 800 teabags? :laugh: The detail on the bottom looks good.

Nice idea for a rework of the "NASA" name too! :laugh: Steam on!

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This is great. I always love to see the ingenuity of Steampunk and I really think it is showing in this creation.

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2 years runing around without landing? Damn this tech is far more advanced then nuclear fusion(and less dangerous to human health and pollution hehe).

Nice details all around, especially those bird cages. Great implementation of story in your moc's. i wonder does he neverget lonely? being alone up there for years...

im not sure if this is the right place to ask:does nikola tesla falls under steampunk or not? Afterall he was one of the best scientists from early 20th century, and sure is still far ahead of modern scientists too.

Cheers

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im not sure if this is the right place to ask:does nikola tesla falls under steampunk or not? Afterall he was one of the best scientists from early 20th century, and sure is still far ahead of modern scientists too.

Cheers

It's the wrong place, but in any case I consider the answer as "yes" for the most part. "The Prestige" is a good example of Tesla steampunk.

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