CONCEPT

Galactic Exploration Vessel Empyrean is a decedant of Interstellar Exploration Vessel Leviathan with both designs living in the same fictional universe. Like its precursor, the Empyean is a large, long-range exploration vessel that represent the apex of star-faring technology during the era it exists in. In the perhaps centuries between the Leviathan and the Empyean, the Interstellar Exploration Corps has grown in size and capability to become the Galactic Exploration Corps. Empyrean class Galactic Exploration Vessels serve as flagships for the GEC. An ususual feature of the Empyean class are the two large separable hulls attached along the underside of the forward section of the main hull. These hulls serve as giant FTL-capable lifeboats.

The design of Galactic Exploration Vessel Empyrean is based on Grand Leviathan Type-IV Starcruiser created by the fellow speculative spaceship designer I have worked with the most, Jeff D. Robb. I used Jeff's line art illustration as the underlay for a 2D rendering created in 2002 with CorelDRAW 9 and subsequently tweaked it in 2004 with CorelDRAW 12.

Galactic Exploration Vessel Catalyst is the smallest exploration starship serving in the Galactic Exploration Corps. Catalyst class vessels usually serve as support ships for larger explorers such as the Empyrean class. They are too small to carry their own smallcraft and have much smaller crews than their larger Ursula K LeGuin class predecessors.

The design of Galactic Exploration Vessel Catalyst is based on the Catamaran Shuttle by Jeff D. Robb.The 3D CGI model was originally created by fellow speculative spaceship designer Sean Kennedy and is used here with his permission. The Catalysts are similar in mission concept to the Federation Danube Class Runabouts of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Star Station Valley Into Vastness is an updated version of Star Station 1, a large space station design originally created in 2002. Star Stations are located throughout human-explored space and serve as fleet bases for the Galactic Exploration Corps. Valley Into Vastness is the home base for Galactic Exploration Exploration Vessel Empyrean.

DIGITAL RESOURCES

Modeling - Rhino 4 and TrueSpace 6.6
Rendering - Flamingo 2.0
Textures - Jean Lu Ajrarn, Strange Fate and David C. Mueller
Backgrounds - Custom Photoshop 7 brushes and Photoshop plug-in Lunarcell
Running Lights - Universe Image Creator
Miscellaneous - CorelDRAW, Corel Photo-Paint and Adobe Photoshop

COMMENTS BY JEFF ROBB FOR THE GRAND LEVIATHAN

This design for a large, futuristic starcruiser was directly inspired by David's own Starship Leviathan Type-IV Starcruiser, a design I consider to be David's signature work due to the great amount of effort he put into it across many years, finally culminating in a detailed stand-alone book, a copy of which he was kind enough to share with me. Some time afterward, in 1999, I entertained the notion of "refitting" or "modernizing" his thoughtful Leviathan design with additional components and curvilinear "bracing" layered onto the hull, and this Grand Leviathan is the result. It maintains many key features of David's original, while refining or adding some interesting new components. We decided to include this speculative design in our joint book, Interstellar Vessels of the Radiant Era, and highlighted it as the most advanced Human-built ship of its kind.

As someone who admires the designs of real-life modern automobiles and aircraft, I am quite fond of curvilinear, flowing forms. This naturally extends to fictional creations like the Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the Andromeda Ascendant of "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda". For now, a harmonious unit of curvilinear shapes holds the most visual appeal for me both as a viewer and a designer; as such, I strive to achieve such functional and esthetic harmony in my own designs. I enjoy designing a vehicle that I would be proud to operate, or be a passenger on. Fitting a starcruiser design with such artful aspirations into a conceptual universe dominated by David's more industrial-looking space vessels may be a stretch even after the fact, but David's welcoming nature prevailed, and the Grand Leviathan took a place in an upbeat spacefaring future as a homage to a friend's personal design and a parallel dream of my own.

PRIMARY DESIGN INFLUENCES

1. Grand Leviathan Type-IV Starcruiser by Jeff D. Robb

2. Starship Leviathan Type-IV Starcruiser by David C. Mueller