Lunar module (''UFO'')
| First appearance | "Computer Affair" |
|---|---|
| Affiliation |
|
| Launched | ≥ "Identified" (1970) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Lunar module |
| Auxiliary craft | Lunar carrier |
| Propulsion | Rocket (possibly a nuclear fusion system) |
In the UFO TV series, the Lunar module is the only SHADO spacecraft capable of Earth–Moon travel. On Earth, it can only take off and land docked with a mother ship known as the Lunar Carrier, as part of its tail.
This spacecraft takes off and lands on the Moon in an upright position on a launch pad in SHADO Moonbase.
Description
The SHADO Lunar module is a red spaceplane – usually manned by two crewmembers – with a large rocket engine on the rear and, eventually, a reaction control system (its re-entry angle of attack is a recurring plot element, such as in the episode "Conflict"). It is equipped with many angle control systems, anti-UFO radars (which as shown in "Conflict" itself, can be easily eluded by hostile Limpet UFOs that attack themselves to the craft's top section) and two "compoter [sic] displays" used as timers and videophones. The engines of the module are controlled by a series of little, colored levers near the pilot's seats.
Differently from SHADO's Moon Hoppers (later named "Moonmobiles" in reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey's Moonbuses), these spacecraft cannot land in horizontal position, like the Space: 1999 Mark IX Hawks, but achieve VTVL landing operations at the SHADO Moonbase.
Launch vehicle
| First appearance | "Computer Affair" |
|---|---|
| Affiliation |
|
| Launched | ≥ "Identified" (1970) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | Spacecraft carrier aircraft/launch vehicle |
| Auxiliary craft | Lunar module |
| Propulsion | Turbine propulsion |
The Lunar module uses a powerful launch vehicle VTOL aircraft, the Lunar Carrier, during its flights. The module, before the flight, is docked to the Carrier as part of its tail, and, when a certain altitude is reached, it undocks and flies to the Moon.