The Derelict

The Derelict is the name given to the abandoned alien spacecraft discovered by the crew of the deep space tug Nostromo in the 1979 science fiction film Alien. The Derelict was built by a species that have become known as The Space Jockeys. It was investigated by the Nostromo crew in response to a mistaken SOS signal originating from its location, LV-426, a fictitious moon (frequently but erroneously referred to as a planet) in the Zeta II Reticuli system. Image File history File links Screenshot from Alien (movie). ... Image File history File links Screenshot from Alien (movie). ... In popular culture and conspiracy theories, life forms, especially intelligent life forms, that are of extraterrestrial origin, i. ... A spacecraft is a vessel, craft or device designed to operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ... TUG is a three-letter acronym which can stand for: Graz University of Technology in Graz, Austria the TeX Users Group The Ultimate Group, an entertainment production company, founded by Chris Stokes Tie Up Games (a form of bondage) For the word tug, see Tug (disambiguation). ... The USCSS Ulysees Nostromo is a fictional starship, featured in the 1979 film Alien. ... For the Smashing Pumpkins song, see 1979 (song). ... Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, is an extremely popular and influential science fiction/horror film that spawned several sequels and imitators. ... The Space Jockey from The Derelict, as seen in Alien. ... The SOS Distress Signal ( file info) — Problems listening to the file? See media help. ... LV-426 as seen in Aliens LV-426, also known as Acheron and the home of the xenomorph, is the name of the fictitious moon (frequently but erroneously referred to as a planet) where the Alien was first encountered by humans in the movie Alien (1979) of the Alien Series. ...

Ship Specifications

The Derelict is a large, asymmetrical, wishbone-shaped craft, with a thickened central section between the two horns, which bend upwards. It has three large openings near ground level between the two horns, leading into the ship's interior. It is from one of these openings that three of the Nostromo crew members (Captain Dallas, Navigator Lambert, and Executive Officer Kane) entered the ship. The interior of the Derelict resembled more a giant beast than a spacegoing vessel, with its skeletal walls, circular gangways and steep passages. (The alien nest in Aliens implied that the aliens had transformed the ship as they had the terraforming station). Look up wishbone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Captain Dallas (ID# 032/V4-07C) was the captain of the commercial towing vessel The Nostromo in the 1979 science fiction film, Alien. ... Lambert (ID# 971/L6-02P) was the navigator on the commercial towing vessel The Nostromo in the 1979 in film science fiction film Alien. ... Kane (ID# 825/G9-01K) was executive officer on the commercial towing vessel The Nostromo in the 1979 science fiction film Alien. ...

The Derelict may be a type of bioship from an advanced and ancient race (the Space Jockeys). It is organic in appearance, and it shows signs of being partially fossilized; though it is still functional, since it is still sending out an automated radio transmission. The dead Pilot is also fused to the command chair on the ship's bridge equivalent. A Shadow battlecrab from Babylon 5 A bioship is a type of spacecraft described in science fiction. ... The Space Jockey from The Derelict, as seen in Alien. ... Organic describes forms, methods and patterns found in living systems such as organisation of cells, to populations, communities, and ecosystems. ... For other uses of the term, see Fossil (disambiguation) Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other artifacts such as footprints. ... Bridge of the brigantine LEtoile The bridge of a ship is an area or room where the ships navigational controls and other essential equipment related to ship operations are housed and operated. ...

One interesting aspect of the ship is that exactly what part of the ship seen by the Nostromo's crew goes completely unexplained. It would seem to be the bow, or front, because the Space Jockey is apparently the pilot but this is uncertain. The exterior of the ship looks almost like the stern (back-end) of a ship that has hit the ground and buried its nose in the dirt. Whichever theory one chooses to accept will also dictate which backstory the viewer will accept.

Crew

The fossilized Space Jockey

In an enormous cockpit room, on a turntable-like structure was a giant alien life form that appeared to have been dead for an extremely long time, since it was fossilized. It appeared to have grown out of its equally enormous chair. It was sitting at a giant telescopic object that pointed upward that is assumed to be the pilot's controls. It also had a huge hole in its chest with bones bent outward, as if something exploded from the inside. Image File history File links Its_a_Jockey. ... Image File history File links Its_a_Jockey. ... Three small ammonite fossils, each approximately 1. ...

Very little is known about this long dead organism inside the Derelict, which the Alien production team named Space Jockey. H.R. Giger, designer of the Derelict and the Space Jockey, originally named it simply "The Pilot". Lambert of the Nostromo brought up the question of what happened to the rest of the crew on the Derelict, since no remains of any other Space Jockeys were found on board. For other uses, see Space Jockey (disambiguation). ... Birth machine Hans Ruedi Giger (pronounced: GEE-ger) (born at Chur, Grisons canton, February 5, 1940) is a Swiss painter best known for his design work on the film Alien. ...

Cargo

Inside the egg chamber, Kane is dwarfed by the size of the Jockey ship

Kane, the executive officer, found a large hole near the side of the Space Jockey's "turntable". The hole opened out into a pit, apparently burned through by acid. The crewman volunteered to go down and investigate. Image File history File linksMetadata Eggcave. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Eggcave. ...

Upon reaching the bottom he discovered that he was inside an enormous cave-like cargo space filled with thousands of "leathery eggs," covered by a thin layer of blue mist that reacted when broken. Ridley Scott states during the Director's Commentary on the Alien (film) Special Edition DVD that the eggs are the cargo of the Space Jockey's ship with the ship being a sort-of war ship designed to carry these biological weapons, or perhaps a science vessel carrying the eggs as cargo for scientific study. Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields, England) is an influential English film director and producer. ... Alien is a 1979 science fiction / horror film directed by Ridley Scott, from an original story by Dan OBannon and Ronald Shusett. ...

This room was called "the egg chamber" for obvious reasons, and is the scene of the first contact with the Alien organism, when the facehugger bursts out from one of the eggs, penetrates Kane's helmet, and attaches itself to his face. Facehugger A Facehugger is the first stage in the life-cycle of the Xenomorph aliens seen in the Aliens movie series. ...

Origins

The origin of the Derelict and its inhabitant, the Space Jockey, remain a mystery and virtually nothing is ever said about either throughout the entire Alien series. It is assumed that the Derelict was destroyed in the Atmosphere Processor explosion. If there were a prequel added to the Alien series, the backstory of the Derelict and its crew might be a key and revelatory theme, and those responsible for the series have expressed their interest in seeing this. The Derelict was never seen again after Alien except for its brief appearance in the 1991 Special Edition of Aliens which depicted its discovery by the Jorden family, on the now colonized LV-426. Following this extended introduction, all but one of the colony members are killed by the alien species.

Trivia

In a very early draft of the script, the eggs were originally meant to be housed in a completely separate architectural structure, shaped in the form of a massive pyramid. These illustrations of the discarded sequence were done by British illustrator and science fiction artist Chris Foss.

According to the book "Giger's Alien," the eggs were originally meant to be housed in a completely separate architectural structure, shaped in the form of a massive pyramid. This would imply the previous existence of a native civilization, wiped out by their reverence for the creatures. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (981x609, 123 KB) According to the book The Book of Alien (Titan Books © 1979), in a very early draft of the script, the eggs were originally meant to be housed in a completely separate architectural structure, shaped in the form of... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (981x609, 123 KB) According to the book The Book of Alien (Titan Books © 1979), in a very early draft of the script, the eggs were originally meant to be housed in a completely separate architectural structure, shaped in the form of... An illustrator is a graphic artist who specializes in enhancing written text by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text. ... Christopher Foss (born 1946) is a British illustrator and science fiction artist, best known for his science fiction book covers and the illustrations for the original editions of The Joy of Sex. ...

More than 100 prop eggs were created for the scene of Kane's exploration of the "cave" under The Derelict. One special hero-egg prop was created with a top that could peel open by hydraulics. The scene of Kane being attacked was filmed on September 10, 1978. Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico This article is about natural caves; for artificial caves used as dwellings, such as those in north China, see yaodong. ...

Ridley Scott wanted an early warning system around the Alien eggs that would signal the eggs to the approach of a possible host organism. This effect was achieved through the use of a blue scanning laser that was projected through smoke to highlight the apparent membrane covering the eggs. The laser used was loaned to Scott by the rock group The Who. The Who are an English rock band who first came to prominence in the 1960s and grew to be considered one of the greatest and most influential rock n roll bands of all time. ...

Ridley Scott has stated in respect to the production of Alien that he wanted to make "a slasher movie in space". The Derelict is intended as an updated version of "a dark, old, haunted house", as is the Nostromo. A haunted house is a building that supposedly is a centre for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena. ...

See also

• Haunted House
• Event Horizon (film)

A haunted house is a building that supposedly is a centre for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena. ... Event Horizon is a 1997 science fiction/horror film. ...