*2010* Model Puzzle from Museum Exhibit
Bill Higgins
What spacecraft is over my head in this picture?
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/beamjockey/350870509/>
In September, I visited a terrific place, the American Museum of the Moving
Image, in Queens, New York, New York. See my brief review of it in my blog
at <http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/45027.html>.
Hanging from the ceiling are models from the 1984 film *2010*; one is part
of a world, the other is a spacecraft. They are labeled as being models of
the Moon and of *Discovery* (a spacecraft you'll also recall from *2001: A
Space Odyssey*).
I decided the exhibit was mislabeled. The world is obviously Io, big orange
moon of Jupiter-- much of the action of *2010* takes place in orbit around
Io.
Since the spacecraft did not resemble *Discovery* much, I leapt to the
conclusion that it was the *Leonov*, with which I was less familiar. I
labeled it that way in my Flickr caption of the photo I took.
Yesterday I heard from Miriam Posner, AMMI's Collections and Research
Manager. She had spotted my photo online and was concerned about correcting
the exhibit label. She pointed out that the model doesn't really look like
the *Leonov* either. So I am wrong about that.
She offers two more images of the exhibit:
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/beamjockey/481584128/>
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/beamjockey/481584132/>
So if it isn't *Discovery* and it isn't *Leonov*, what is it?
My best guess at present is this: The model is a section of the long "spine"
of *Discovery* built for a close-up, or a small portion of a much larger
model. The flat boxes are the repeated "fuel modules" arranged in a triangle
around the central spine.
If so, the similarities ought to be apparent in stills from the original
movie, *2001*. (Models from that production were destroyed, so the folks who
made *2010* had to build duplicate models and sets based on photos.)
See <http://www.palantir.net/2001/tma1/pics/ae3508.jpg> for a decent shot of
this arrangement.
This view does not show as much detail, but gives a different angle:
<http://www.palantir.net/2001/tma1/pics/ae3506.jpg>
This view shows the whole ship from the side, and the repeated symmetry of
the fuel modules is apparent:
<http://www.palantir.net/2001/tma1/pics/ae3506.jpg>
Stills from *2010* are not as common on the Web, but here is one:
<http://www.physics.hku.hk/~tboyce/sf/assignments/2010/2010_large_07.jpg>
Can you confirm or refute my hypothesis?
Is the size of this section consistent with a large *Discovery* model built
for *2010*, or was it made for a closeup?
Can you spot a shot of this model within the film?
Is there a "Making of" book, article, or documentary where this model can be
seen?
Does it really represent some other spacecraft that can be identified?
--
Bill Higgins
Fermilab
hig...@fnal.gov
Fred Shecter
--
"""Remove "zorch" from address (2 places) to reply.
http://www.sirius.com/
"Bill Higgins" <hig...@fnal.gov> wrote in message
news:Pine.SOL.4.64L.07...@fsui03.fnal.gov...
Andre Lieven
> http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-18,GGLG:en&q=leonov+2010
Looking at all the photos, I would say that the spacecraft section hanging
in that exhibit is a close up piece of USS Discovery's spine that likely
was used for a shot in 2010 where the docking clamp of the Leonov grabs
onto the central spine of the Discovery. This was to allow Discovery's engines
to be used as a first stage in order to send Leonov away from Jupiter space
before Leonov's nominal launch window was available.
The moon model is Io.
Andre
OM
wrote:
><http://www.flickr.com/photos/beamjockey/481584128/>
><http://www.flickr.com/photos/beamjockey/481584132/>
>
>So if it isn't *Discovery* and it isn't *Leonov*, what is it?
>
>My best guess at present is this: The model is a section of the long "spine"
>of *Discovery* built for a close-up, or a small portion of a much larger
>model. The flat boxes are the repeated "fuel modules" arranged in a triangle
>around the central spine.
...That's exactly what it is. It's the segment built for the Leonov's
docking clamp sequence, so that the camera could get in the right
angle without having the command sphere blocking the way. And since
the segment from "2001" was destroyed because Kubrick was having a
moron moment, that has to be from "2010". Especially if the coloring
is yellow.
OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[
Bill Higgins
> "Fred Shecter" (fred.e....@zorch.alum.zorch.mit.edu) writes:
>> http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-18,GGLG:en&q=leonov+2010
>
> Looking at all the photos, I would say that the spacecraft section hanging
> in that exhibit is a close up piece of USS Discovery's spine that likely
> was used for a shot in 2010 where the docking clamp of the Leonov grabs
> onto the central spine of the Discovery. This was to allow Discovery's engines
> to be used as a first stage in order to send Leonov away from Jupiter space
> before Leonov's nominal launch window was available.
>
> The moon model is Io.
Aha. I thought it might have turned up in the "revolving *Discovery*" scene
where the cosmonauts are initially boarding. I looked at that part of the
DVD, but didn't spot the model.
I'll look over the spine-grabbing scene (much later in the story) to confirm
your notion. Sounds promising.
I have come across a vanished, but fortunately archived, site with better
snapshots of the model. It was displayed at COSI, the Center of Science and
Industry, in Columbus, Ohio before it arrived at the American Museum of the
Moving Image in New York.
<http://web.archive.org/web/20020708001040/neolase.lasers.org/Modeling/2010/2010Model.shtml>
<http://web.archive.org/web/20040518142938/neolase.lasers.org/Modeling/2010/2010_0167.jpg>
<http://web.archive.org/web/20040518140843/neolase.lasers.org/Modeling/2010/2010_0166.jpg>
You can see more detail, and the yellowish color, which makes the spine
theory more convincing to me.
--
"Read my lips, Hal: Bill Higgins
Open the Pod Bay doors!" Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Internet: hig...@fnal.gov
Hyper
> Does it really represent some other spacecraft that can be identified?
Nope.
Discovery, definitely Discovery, definitely :-)
Andre Lieven
> On Wed, 2 May 2007, Andre Lieven wrote:
>
>> "Fred Shecter" (fred.e....@zorch.alum.zorch.mit.edu) writes:
>>> http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-18,GGLG:en&q=leonov+2010
>>
>> Looking at all the photos, I would say that the spacecraft section hanging
>> in that exhibit is a close up piece of USS Discovery's spine that likely
>> was used for a shot in 2010 where the docking clamp of the Leonov grabs
>> onto the central spine of the Discovery. This was to allow Discovery's engines
>> to be used as a first stage in order to send Leonov away from Jupiter space
>> before Leonov's nominal launch window was available.
>>
>> The moon model is Io.
>
> Aha. I thought it might have turned up in the "revolving *Discovery*" scene
> where the cosmonauts are initially boarding. I looked at that part of the
> DVD, but didn't spot the model.
IIRC, at that part of the film, we first see Discovery at some distance,
then we get closer ups until we're pretty much focused on the command
ball structure at the forward end of the ship. So, likely not any real
spine close ups there.
> I'll look over the spine-grabbing scene (much later in the story) to confirm
> your notion. Sounds promising.
Indeed. Another poster over here on space.history also suggested that
portion of the film.
> I have come across a vanished, but fortunately archived, site with better
> snapshots of the model. It was displayed at COSI, the Center of Science and
> Industry, in Columbus, Ohio before it arrived at the American Museum of the
> Moving Image in New York.
>
> <http://web.archive.org/web/20020708001040/neolase.lasers.org/Modeling/2010/2010Model.shtml>
> <http://web.archive.org/web/20040518142938/neolase.lasers.org/Modeling/2010/2010_0167.jpg>
> <http://web.archive.org/web/20040518140843/neolase.lasers.org/Modeling/2010/2010_0166.jpg>
>
> You can see more detail, and the yellowish color, which makes the spine
> theory more convincing to me.
Yep. :-)
Andre
Bill Higgins
> Bill Higgins (hig...@fnal.gov) writes:
>> I'll look over the spine-grabbing scene (much later in the story) to confirm
>> your notion. Sounds promising.
>
> Indeed. Another poster over here on space.history also suggested that
> portion of the film.
Confirmed. Full account at <http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/62904.html>.
The spine-clamping scene comes at one hour, 29 minutes into my copy of the
DVD.
The museum's model is indeed a piece of *Discovery's* spine.
Interestingly, it can also be seen in the documentary featurette, hanging
behind Arthur C. Clarke as, Hari-Seldon-like, he addresses the viewer.
Once again, I recommend the American Museum of the Moving Image in New York.
Not only is it fascinating to anyone with an interest in movies and
television and how they're made, it presents its collection outstandingly
well, and is a good example for other museums.
(The Museum of the Moving Image in London is very good as well-- but I stray
off-topic.)
--
She was only a | Bill Higgins
rocket scientist's daughter, | Fermilab
but she left the boys | Internet:
exhausted behind her. | hig...@fnal.gov