This is my interpretation of how they look like the spaceships present in the Stephen Baxter's novel
Manifold: Space. I haven't test this yet, so I don't know if the flower part is printable; I generated the gcode (with support) and it seems so.
I could not find any artwork of the book, a fan art nor even a drawing of them, so this is comes out entirely from my imagination. I followed these description from the book:
- It looks like a flower, also vaguely resembles a squid.
- It has a “bulky main section, a smoothly curved cylinder with a mess of silvery ropes trailing behind”.
- The “petals” can be folded.
- It is about a kilometre long.
- It passes through the Saddle Point portals, that are 30 to 50 meters diameter. That’s quiet puzzling since it must be 25 times larger than wider to pass through the portals, I guess it could do this folding its "petals", narrowing itself into a stick shape.
In the book these ships belong to the Gaijin, a robotic alien race that were discovered lurking in the Main Asteroid Belt in the year 2020 (the book is from the 2000's so we are in the future then). They are meant to serve as interplanetary transport using Bussard ramjet technology, a theoretical free propeller engine that works as a giant magnetic funnel, that compresses and fuses interplanetary hydrogen. Another hard sci-fi novel which plot turns around this propulsion system is
Tau Zero.
I spend part of my time making these models, letting them available and free for everyone. If you want to support my work, you can contribute with me here:
Other astronomical objects
Object | Scale [1:x] K = 103 (thousand)
M = 106 (million)
G = 109 (billion) | Image |
Inner Solar System |
| Mercury | 20M, 60M, 120M |  |
| Venus | 60M, 120M, 250M |  |
| Earth | 60M, 120M, 250M |  |
| Luna | 10M, 20M, 60M |  |
| Mars | 20M, 60M, 120M |  |
| Phobos and Deimos | 200K, 500K |  |
Man-made |
| Salyut 7 | 40, 48, 80, 160 |  |
| |
| Moshup and Squannit | 8K, 20K, 40K |  |
| Ra-Shalom | 20K, 40K |  |
| Castalia | 8K, 20K, 40K |  |
| Bacchus | 8K, 20K |  |
| Bennu | 3K, 8K |  |
| Ryugu | 3K, 8K, 20K |  |
| Geographos | 40K, 80K |  |
| Phaethon | 40K, 80K |  |
| Itokawa | 3K, 8K |  |
| Eros | 80K, 200K, 500K |  |
| Nereus | 3K, 8K |  |
| Didymos and Dimorphos | 8K, 20K |  |
| Mithra | 20K, 40K |  |
| Golevka | 8K |  |
| Toutatis | 40K, 80K |  |
| |
| Gaspra | 200K |  |
| Annefrank | 40K, 80K |  |
| Braille | 20K, 40K |  |
| Vesta | 2M, 4M, 10M |  |
| Šteins | 40K, 80K, 200K |  |
| Iris | 2M, 4M |  |
| Hebe | 1M, 2M, 4M |  |
| Lutetia | 500K, 1M, 2M |  |
| Julia | 1M, 2M, 4M |  |
| Mathilde | 500K, 1M |  |
| Juno | 2M, 4M |  |
| Ceres | 4M, 10M |  |
| Pallas | 4M, 10M |  |
| Kleopatra | 2M, 4M |  |
| Ida | 500K, 1M |  |
| Psyche | 2M, 4M |  |
| Interamnia | 2M, 4M |  |
| Hygiea | 2M, 4M, 10M |  |
| Antiope | 1M, 2M |  |
| |
| Jupiter | 500M, 1G |  |
| Amalthea | 2M, 4M |  |
| Thebe | 1M, 2M |  |
| Io | 20M, 60M |  |
| Europa | 20M, 60M |  |
| Ganymede | 60M, 120M |  |
| Callisto | 60M, 120M |  |
| |
| Saturn | 500M, 1G |  |
| Pan, Daphnis and Atlas | 80K, 200K, 500K, 1M |  |
| Prometheus and Pandora | 1M, 2M |  |
| Janus and Epimetheus | 2M, 4M |  |
| Mimas | 2M, 4M, 10M |  |
| Methone, Anthe and Pallene | 40K, 80K |  |
| Enceladus | 4M, 10M |  |
| Tethys | 4M, 10M, 20M |  |
| Telesto and Calypso | 200K, 500K |  |
| Dione | 4M, 10M, 20M |  |
| Helene | 500K, 1M |  |
| Rhea | 10M, 20M |  |
| Titan | 60M, 120M |  |
| Hyperion | 2M, 4M |  |
| Iapetus | 10M, 20M |  |
| Phoebe | 1M, 2M, 4M |  |
| |
| Uranus | 250M, 500M, 1G |  |
| Puck | 1M, 2M, 4M |  |
| Miranda | 4M, 10M |  |
| Ariel | 10M, 20M |  |
| Umbriel | 10M, 20M |  |
| Titania | 10M, 20M |  |
| Oberon | 10M, 20M |  |
| |
| Neptune | 250M, 500M, 1G |  |
| Larissa | 2M, 4M |  |
| Proteus | 2M, 4M, 10M |  |
| Triton | 20M |  |
| |
| Tempel 1 | 40K, 80K, 200K |  |
| Wild 2 | 40K, 80K |  |
| Churyumov-Gerasimenko | 20K, 40K, 80K |  |
| Hartley 2 | 20K, 40K, 80K |  |
| Borrelly | 40K, 80K, 200K |  |
| Halley | 80K, 200K |  |
Centaurs and TNOs |
| Hidalgo | 500K, 1M |  |
| Chariklo | 2M, 4M |  |
| Pluto and Charon | 10M, 20M |  |
| Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra | 500K, 1M |  |
| Haumea, Namaka and Hiʻiaka | 10M, 20M |  |
| Arrokoth | 200K, 500K, 1M |  |
| Largest TNOs and their moons | 10M, 20M |  |
Extrasolar |
| Exoplanets | 120M, 250M, 500M |  |
| Nearest white dwarfs | 120M, 250M |  |
| HD 189733 b | 1G |  |
| Pulsars | 200K, 500K |  |
| Cygnus X-1 accretion disk | 10M, 20M |  |
| M87* photon ring | 1.5*1014 |  |
Sky maps |
| Heliosphere | 7.5*1013, 1.5*1014 |  |
| Constellations | - |  |
| CMBR | 2*1028 |  |
Ancient |
| Earth (540 Mya to 20 Mya) | 60M, 120M, 250M |  |
| Luna (4 Gya) | 20M, 60M |  |
Speculative |
| Planet Nine | 250M, 500M |  |
| Cube planet | 60M, 120M, 250M |  |
| |
| Ghroth | 4M, 10M |  |
| Arda | 60M, 120M |  |
| B612 | 10, 20, 32, 40 |  |
| Mesklin | 500M, 1G |  |
| Arrakis | 60M, 120M |  |
| Borg cube | 8K, 20K, 40K |  |
| Pern | 60M, 120M |  |
| Europa Monolith | 200K, 500K |  |
| Leonora Christine | 500, 600, 1K, 3K |  |
| Rama | 80K, 200K, 500K |  |
| Death Star | 500K, 1M, 2M |  |
| Starkiller Base | 2M, 4M, 10M |  |
| Eternia | 60M, 120M |  |
| Visitors mothership | 20K, 40K |  |
| Wheel of Time Earth | 60M, 120M, 250M |  |
| Nirn, Secunda and Masser | 20M, 60M, 120M |  |
| ID mothership | 2M, 4M, 10M |  |
| ID troop transporter | 200, 350, 500, 1K |  |
| Heptapod spaceship | 1K, 3K, 8K |  |
| Gaijin flowership | 3K |  |
| Red Moon | 60M, 120M |  |
| Halo Array | 4M, 10M, 20M, 60M |  |
| Gem Homeworld | 120M, 250M, 500M |  |
| Citadel of Ricks | 200K |  |
| The Skeld | 40, 80, 160, 350, 500 |  |
Misc |
| Mars (1962 reconstruction) | 60M, 120M |  |
| Flat Earth | 250M |  |
| Expanding Earth | 60M, 120M |  |
| Spaceship of Ezekiel | 80, 160 |  |
