2010 Ignition

Another in Rob Caswell's and my series of images based on the novel 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke.
One last time, Discovery's plasma drive comes to life among the moons of Jupiter.  The now combined Discovery and Leonov begin their complex departure from Jupiter's increasingly enigmatic space. From the novel: "Strange, thought Floyd, how terminology often survives long after the technology that gave it birth. Only chemical rockets were capable of ignition; even if the hydrogen in a plasma drive did come in contact with oxygen, it would be far too hot to burn"

Done in Lightwave 10 and Photoshop CS6.

Thanks for taking a look!