Ship Design Philosophy

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Spaceship Design

From the most basic rockets to future ships designed for interstellar or even intergalactic flight, spaceship design is all about mission purpose, available technology, and keeping your crew safe and comfortable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4ddnrBT6hE


1. Mass versus cost.

2. Volume versus economies of scale.

3. Self sealing tanks versus unarmoured tanks.

4. Pod trailing.

5. Ice comet freighters.

6. Cat navigators?

7. Augmented and/or altered human crew.

8. OSHA versus robust health insurance.

9. Interstellar drag.

10. Radiation damage from radioactive isotopes in the human body during long duration frozen sleep.

11. Solar sail decelerator.

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Armament and Carronades

So how many of these can I stuff into a turret?

[Moppy]

Spaceships: Armament and Carronades

So how many of these can I stuff into a turret?

Missing link? (No, not that kind. Go away, Darwin).

[Condottiere]

Inspiration: The Expanse Season 4 - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Discover what lies beyond the Ring Gate as the Rocinante lands on Ilus to find tensions at a full boil. Full season coming December 13, 2019 on Amazon Prime Video.

About The Expanse Seasons 4:
Season 4 of The Expanse, its first as a global Amazon Original, begins a new chapter for the series with the crew of the Rocinante on a mission from the U.N. to explore new worlds beyond the Ring Gate. Humanity has been given access to thousands of Earth-like planets which has created a land rush and furthered tensions between the opposing nations of Earth, Mars and the Belt. Ilus is the first of these planets, one rich with natural resources but also marked by the ruins of a long dead alien civilization. While Earthers, Martians and Belters maneuver to colonize Ilus and its natural resources, these early explorers don’t understand this new world and are unaware of the larger dangers that await them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFdzpVt5rbk

[Sigtrygg]

There is a rather good article on atomic rockets about how the Epstein drive could actually be scientifically plausible.

http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/r ... tein_Drive_)

scroll down to matter beam's analysis or alternatively use this link for the original article

https://toughsf.blogspot.com/2019/10/th ... drive.html

[Moppy]

There is a rather good article on atomic rockets about how the Epstein drive could actually be scientifically plausible.

http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/r ... tein_Drive_)

scroll down to matter beam's analysis or alternatively use this link for the original article

https://toughsf.blogspot.com/2019/10/th ... drive.html

Using the battleship’s dimensions, we obtain an average density of about 20 to 40 kg/m^3

The hell is that thing made of? Polystryene Foam is 50 kg/m^3. What is a fibreglass boat? 100 kg/m^3? (Hard to look up right now).

Edit: At least we know a Donnager should float.

[Condottiere]

1. It does make me wonder how we harvest energy from our fusion power plants.

2. Inertial compensation, depending on what factor Traveller technology can nullify gravity; though an acceleration drug probably should be added to the dispensary.

3. I got the impression in the show that spaceships tend to coast after a brief push.

4. Aerogel sandwich?

[Moppy]

4. Aerogel sandwich?

I'll accept that, but ask another question. What is the armor made of?

[Condottiere]

Mithril.

Failing that, spaced armour.

For us, volume is critical, mass is not.

[Moppy]

Mithril.

Failing that, spaced armour.

For us, volume is critical, mass is not.

I Agree.

I’d be interested to see further speculation on this. Building an armored space craft with average density lighter than polystyrene is itself an interesting direction to explore,

[Condottiere]

Structural integrity under high acceleration.

Lots of triangles, I suspect.

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Armaments and Carronades

So no one has figured out how these things work?

So essentially, these things are pointless.

[Moppy]

Spaceships: Armaments and Carronades

So no one has figured out how these things work?

So essentially, these things are pointless.

I don’t know which Traveller system you’re referring to and there is no link if it’s something else. Historically a carrronade is a short-ranged cannon, so fusion bays?

[Condottiere]

It's mentioned in the Companion, and takes up four hardpoints.

Maybe it's Harrington's Lance.

[Condottiere]

Starships: Engineering and the Boneliness of the Short Distance Jumper

1. Any jump, regardless of length, requires a minimum expenditure of (default) ten percent by hull volume fuel, per parsec.

2. Microjumps consume ten percent by hull volume fuel, minimum.

3. Jump governors regulate fuel expenditure, so that the tanks don't run dry if they exceed the required amount of fuel for the jump, though presumably you could just have separate tanks or series of tanks in ten percent groupings, and just keep the tap closed on those you don't need.

4. Classic High Guard mentions that alphabet jump drives that just expend their fuel regardless of jump factor, can add a jump governor to deal with this.

5. The jump governor takes up a tonne, and costs three hundred thousand schmuckers.

6. Since the ten tonner Jump Drive Alphas cost ten megabucks in those days, and the equivalent High Guard three tonner would be twelve, but with an integrated jump governor, I'd say the current cost in the MongoVerse would be four and a half kiloschmuckers.

7. Since I assume the jump governor is integrated in the jump drive overhead of five tonnes, that would mean it's one tonne jump governor at nearly half a megaschmucker, one tonne capacitors at three megaschmuckers, and the rest of the overhead of three tonnes at fourish megaschmuckers.

8. A monojump drive, available at technological level nine, has no need of a jump governor.

[Moppy]

It's mentioned in the Companion, and takes up four hardpoints.

Maybe it's Harrington's Lance.

Ah, I don’t have the companion. I was told not to because the rules testing & editing would trigger me.

I assume you are referring to Honor Harrington by Weber? Isn’t their lance a gravy weapon? Seems high tech for Trav.

[Annatar Giftbringer]

Traveller carronades come in plasma and fusion varieties, TL10 and 12.

[Condottiere]

1. Honor did have to get up close and personal to have any results, and then determined it was pretty much a one use weapon if the other side cottoned on.

2. The Manticoreans then installed them on their missile boats, which mirrors the narrative in the Companion.

3. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of gravitational thingmajigs embedded in plasma and fusion weapon systems.

4. I tend to head straight for the armoury, so can't speak for the rest of the book.

5. I had a concept for a Man 'o' War, but this is so detail poor even I can't extrapolate anything.

[Condottiere]

Spaceships: Companion(ship) Weaponry

You can pretty much write off that chapter in the book.

Most of the stuff is so advanced the Solomani can't develop it; arguably, the ground defence guns might have some application, if they were cheap enough.

However, I doubt any Cold War FlAK gun costs seven megabux, and I don't see ammunition costs.

Carronades lack details and seem more of an afterthought.

[Moppy]

Spaceships: Companion(ship) Weaponry

You can pretty much write off that chapter in the book.

Most of the stuff is so advanced the Solomani can't develop it; arguably, the ground defence guns might have some application, if they were cheap enough.

However, I doubt any Cold War FlAK gun costs seven megabux, and I don't see ammunition costs.

Carronades lack details and seem more of an afterthought.

I don’t know anything about the tech systems in this book but if ground weaponry is being discussed, I bet it can hit orbit (otherwise why mention it?). In this case a 7M price may be reasonable. We might be able to build one of those today if there was any need for it.