A collection of over 75 patent illustrations for functioning spacecraft and spaceflight technologies, designed by amateurs, hobbyists, sci-fi enthusiasts, engineers, and cranks.

Ranging from “somewhat plausible” to “completely off the wall,” these drawings beautifully capture the delirious optimism of the space age. 

In the years between Sputnik and Challenger, sitting in your garage drafting a design for, say, a rotating spacecraft that produced an electric dipole on four rotating spherical conducting domes seemed not just like an interesting hobby, but an obligation to the future of humankind.

Author/Artist: Andy Sturdevant
Publisher: 50 Watt Books
Pages: 100pp
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
Notes: paperback, color
Release Date: June 2025
ISBN: 978-1957625065