Look, he's earned his Artistic License.
I prefer somewhat "harder" science fiction imagery myself, but Traveller's aesthetic conventions -- though not necessarily the physics of it -- tend toward the cinematic/artistic end of the hard-vs-soft SF range. Spacecraft in Traveller generally have
greebles (Wikipedia), especially in and around the drives, that in a "hard-SF" aesthetic wouldn't be exposed on streamlined craft.
SF visual media have generally trended in that direction though, and doing it "right" (that is, as "hard SF")
feels wrong.
See also (up until
The Expanse) belly-landing spacecraft vs. tailsitters.