Thunderbird Five

Here are the Canon Foundry facts about Thunderbird Five, all taken from the Thunderbird FAB Cross-Sections book written by Graham Bleathman (1999):

Dimensions

Length: 400 feet

Height (including antenna): 272 feet

Diameter (including meteor deflector): 296 feet

Weight (standard Earth gravity): 976 tons

Performance

Reception Range: 100 million miles

Gravity: Previn coil artificial-gravity generator: Earth standard (with various options)

Orbit: Geo-stationary 22,400 miles above the Pacific Ocean

Power: Atomic batteries

Other Information

• Full monitoring of emergency calls is maintained by a series of ground stations in secret locations that relay messages to TB5 and give total coverage of the Earth’s surface wherever TB5 is positioned at the time
• Is manned by either John or Alan Tracy in monthly shifts
• Is linked to Earth via Thunderbird 3
• Electronically cloaked to avoid detection from ground-based radar or other spacecraft’s sensor systems
• Its single airlock allows access from the docking bay to the inspection platform
• There are optional fuel tanks along the airlock for Thunderbird 3
• The docking port for TB3 operates such that the white docking ring on TB3 clamps into position, forming an airtight seal. Air is then pumped into the docking bay, allowing easy access from TB3 to TB5’s main body
• TB5’s docking port is normally left open to the vacuum of space, but the outer hatch can be closed for maintenance and inspection purposes
• The entrance to TB5’s main body on the living-quarters level is airlocked
• The airlock on TB5’s control level allows access for space scanners’ maintenance
• There is a duplicate monitor and control room which is used if the main contorl room is damaged or out of action; the computers are independently powered and all data is duplicated for use in emergencies
• At the tip of each antenna are twin-gate space scanners, used to detect meteors and monitor spacecraft communications
• At the very top of TB5 under a transparent dome (astrodome) is a high-powered electronic telescope incorporating a wide-field/planetary camera. Astrodome also contains video-monitoring systems for space scanners
• Astrodome is reached via an access hatch from the anteroom
• Both an emergency ladder and lift (elevator) exist to all levels of the space station
• The space station uses solar energy panels
• Thunderbird Five has a medical bay containing two beds
• There is a coded-frequency antenna used for direct electronic and audiovisual communications with Tracy Island or secret relay stations
• TB5 maintains her orbital position with a space signalling laser-beam system and starfix sensors
• There are movable screens to cover the windows from sun glare
• There is a manual override to the orbital position control
• TB5’s control console is used to alter the satellite’s position
• There is an airlock that leads to the medical bay, stories and anteroom below the astrodome as well as the laboratory beyond
• TB5 contains a digital audio recorder
• Plasma pumps serve as the meteor deflector
• The main monitor console is linked to language translating computer programs; the system selects and records all messages containing words such as ‘help’ and ’emergency’ in all the world’s languages. THese messages can be automatically transferred to computer consoles throughout the station, depending where the person manning her is
• TB5 has a lounge
• There are six bedrooms aboard Thunderbird Five
• There are six electromagnetic cloaking baffles (anti-radar systems that prevent the accidental discovery of TB5)
• There is a mobile electronic entertainment system which features a micro library of movies, a TV broadcast recorder, surround music system and a holographic games projection unit
• At the very bottom of Five is the main monitoring antenna, held clear of the anti-radar distortion field on a long pylon

Information from the Thunderbirds Information Sheet:

Colour     –     Beige with gold markings
Controlled by John Tracy