That was the cover on the first edition boxed set for Traveller, the so-called Little Black Books. It set the tone for what was to come - a game of space opera in its purest form. Traveller was based on equal parts of classic Asimovian and Heinleinian SF of the `40's and `50's mixed with a dash of `70's cinematic SF a lá Star Wars. It differed from Star Trek in that it was oriented around the "little guys" in a sprawling impersonal Imperium rather than around serving officers on the fleet's finest starship. It paid lip service to "hard" SF, but was actually oriented towards swashbuckling "sci-fi" adventuring.
The Free Trader Beowulf finally got the treatment it was due in Digest Group's Starship Operator's Manual, being the subject of a full set of blueprints by artist Rob Caswell. Interestingly, the book featured "commentary" sidebars by a grizzled space veteran patterned after a character type found in many of Robert A. Heinlein's novels and short stories.
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