A thread of the short stories I've gotten published this year and where to find them: (1/8)

Read my newest short story "Darkness Gathers Her Lambs" — some First Contact mayhem — in Apocalypse Confidential's giallo-themed CLOAK & DAGGER special. Now out. apocalypse-confidential.com/2025/12/21/a...

Ocelus Transfer Laboratory, a design for the late-2100s. With a crew of 40, it is designed to develop interplanetary technologies while making the run to Mars and back. This is part of my project to create spacecraft based on the planetary astrology signs, in this case: Mars.

Ah yeah, it's Friday

The Corvair space shuttle from The Simpsons "Deep Space Homer" (S5E15). Crew: Buzz Aldrin, Race Banyon, Homer Simpson.

Long-term CNSA plans include a nuclear-powered Neptune probe that will arrive in the 2040s. In addition to exploring Neptune, the probe will launch orbiters to centaurs or asteroids of interest en route. It does not have a name yet, but I think Jingwei would be a nice one.

ISS in an alternate-past: Two TKSs and an early Space Shuttle design docked to McDonnell Douglas's Growth Space Station.

The TKS was a Soviet design for a space station logistics craft that could carry a crew of three. It flew uncrewed test missions, but was canceled before it could fly in its intended role. The design was later reused for Mir and ISS space station modules.

Orion renders: 1) and 2), renders of the spacecraft 3) Size comparison between Orion and Apollo CSM 4) Tongren, my concept for a joint US-Chinese moon-orbiting space station

The TKS was a Soviet design for a space station logistics spacecraft, capable to carrying a crew of three. Although it never flew a crew in its intended role, the design was reworked into space station modules for the Mir and ISS.

TKS: Vladimir Chemolei's space station logistics craft. Designed to support Almaz military stations, it could carry a crew of three. Despite successful test flights, it never flew a crew. Rather, the design was reconfigured and used as Mir and ISS modules (Zarya and Nauka).

Historical unbuilt Gemini concepts: 1) Lunar Reconnaissance Gemini for mapping the lunar surface 2) Mission to rendezvous with the Pegasus micrometeorite satellite 3) Big Gemini space station logistics craft 4) Rescue Gemini for picking up stranded Apollo astronauts

The Avco 7969 was designed for the USAF Man in Space Soonest program of the late 50s. It used a deployable drag chute instead of retrorockets to initiate reentry. None of the MISS projects flew, and NASA was given the mission of sending up the first astronaut.

The Avco 7969 was an unusual, unflown late 50s USAF crewed spaceflight concept. Instead of retrorockets, it would use a steel mesh drag brake to slow the spaceraft for reentry. This had an advantage of saving weight and being simpler than a traditional retrorocket system.

— Retransmitting —

Renders from my alternate history project wherein I designed 80s military spacecraft based on the ships from Star Wars; a world where the Strategic Defense Initiative conformed more strictly to its nickname.

Zond 5 returns to Earth. Flown in September 1968, it was a test flight for a Soviet crewed circumlunar mission. Although that mission never happened, Zond 5 was the 1st spacecraft to make a circumlunar flight, making the two turtles it carried the 1st creatures to reach the moon.

While the crew of Apollo 8 were the first human beings to reach the moon and return, two Soviet turtles were the first Earth creatures to accomplish the feat. They were launch aboard Zond 5 on September 14, 1968 and splashed down on September 21st.

Happy Halloween! Check out my newest short story "You Who Dwell in the Dust" in Nocturne Magazine ( @nocturnemag.bsky.social ) It's about Mars. www.nocturnezine.com/issue-5

Happy Halloween from Salem! Some pictures I took this month.

Lunar Liner, sometime in the 2100s. The whole ship would spin around its axis to provide some artificial gravity to the six inflatable passenger modules. The ship would be boosted via space tug to the moon, then return to pick up more passengers before being boosted again.

"Saw" Autechre

Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) and Voyager 2.

In Cassandra Peterson's @therealelvira.bsky.social memoir "Yours Cruelly, Elvira" she mentions a gig where she was hired to "[wear] a silver lamé bikini while standing in a 'Vanna White pose' next to the Voyager II spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory." I need to see a picture of this.

USS Triangulum (NCC-82115), a Galathea-class science vessel (my own design). The Galathea-class is a demilitarized Defiant variant. When the Dominion War ended there were Defiants in various states of completion. Some were retrofitted to this specification.

On a recent DS9 rewatch I realized that we never actually see Earth's orbital defenses, so I made this: the Defense Sphere. They have a crew of 10, impulse engines but no warp drive, and two phaser strips. They are designed to be simple to build and deployed in large numbers.

Black and white randoms: 1) Infographic 2) Satellite from concept art for 2001: A Space Odyssey 3) Alternate-80s laser carrying space station inspired by the TIE fighter 4) Apollo mission trajectory

A closeup view of the Heliogyro's inhabited section. The design comes from a late 60s study for a solar sail. Details of the study in the quoted thread.

Apollo Heliogyro: a 1969 proposal by the Astro Research Corporation. The Heliogryo is a unique type of solar sail. The sails are mounted in a pinwheel configuration, and each can be rotated in order to change the angle of the blade with respect to the incoming radiation.

This line in Shadow Ticket felt like Pynchon talking directly to us: "Maybe I didn't know what I was talking about. Maybe it's too late. Just mind what you see and hear in the sky. Ain't likely to be wild geese on the wing...

Black and white randoms 1) Failed anti-gravity experiment 2) TRS Mk. 2 satellite (1963) 3) 70s McDonnell space station concept 4 Photon rocket based on a design feature in Tekhnika - Molodezhi in 1957

The Virgo over Venus. This is my concept for a crewed Venus exploration vessel in the 2100s, based on the astrological glyph for the planet. The whole structure is spun, and the tether increases the overall radius for the inhabited sections while saving weight.

The Virgo, my concept for a crewed mission to Venus sometime in the next century. The design is based on the astrology glyph for the planet. It uses rotational artificial gravity.

Can't believe this is real. It's been 12 years.

May I interest you in some black cats of Salem?

Happy Halloween season from Salem. Here's some songs. Also: new short story out on Halloween.

Orbital Transfer Vehicle: an 80s NASA concept for a spacecraft that would carry payloads to higher orbits and return to low-earth orbit via aerobraking.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Gemini returning to Earth. This was a McDonnell proposal to soup up a Gemini capsule for a mission to photograph potential Apollo landing sites.

Space stations: 1) Eastern Airlines commercial spaceflight services 2) McDonnell Growth Space Station (70s) 3) Submission to a NASA station design contest from the early 70s

Stereolab!

"I dream that I have found us both again, With spring so many strangers' lives away, And we, so free, Out walking by the sea, With someone else's paper words to say... (cont'd)

An Orbital Transfer Vehicle dives towards the Earth for an aerobraking maneuver. The OTV was an 80s design for a reusable space tug to carry cargo up and down the gravity well. It would use aerobraking to bleed off speed before docking with a space station for refurbishment.

Lunar Reconnaissance Gemini: An unbuilt proposal to use a modified Gemini capsule to photograph the planned Apollo landing sites. More details in the quoted thread.

Post a random Star Trek image

Randoms: 1) Variable Gravity Research Facility "Newton", a 1989 spinning station proposal 2) Project Adam: the US Army's 1958 quick and dirty crewed spaceship design based on the Project Manhigh capsule 3) Priyut, my design for a TKS derived rescue ship

Orbital Transfer Vehicle, an unbuilt space tug from the 80s. The OTV was designed to ferry payloads to geosynchronous orbit and beyond. Once done, it would fall back to Earth, skim the planet's atmosphere to slow down, and return to a space station to refuel for the next mission.

Lunar Reconnaissance Gemini: In the leadup to the Apollo landings, McDonnell proposed using a modified Gemini module to collect photographs of the land sites and develop navigation techniques for future flights.

Dark mode randoms: 1) Flyback Space Shuttle early concept 2) Apollo 13 3) Vostok 1 4) Apollo A, early concept for long duration flight research

Mustang personal shuttle, a concept for the 22nd century.

An unused 70s design for the Space Shuttle after engine cutoff. The concept depicted here had the Orbiter launched piggyback on a bigger piloted shuttle. The launcher would return to Earth for refurbishment and more launches.