Escape pod design

[Reynard]

Oh I've always seen that since Day One yet there are no actual examples. Seems it's a bit of fluff that people in the Traveller universe are giving the launch that designator more because of appearance and association.

 

[simonh]

Oh I've always seen that since Day One yet there are no actual examples. Seems it's a bit of fluff that people in the Traveller universe are giving the launch that designator more because of appearance and association.

I think there's a bit of misscommunication here. No actual examples of what? The launch/lifeboat is an actual example of a lifeboat.

None of the vessels in 5000+ years have ever instituted mandatory lifeboat or escape pod requirements.

There's no way you can possibly know that, because we don't have thoroughly detailed information on the laws and regulations of every government throughout that period. There have been magazine articles, and I think Mega Traveller supplements that described standard survival and rescue equipment carried on imperial vessels.

Certainly at the ship design level there's no mention of any requirement for escape pods or life boats big enough to factor into the ship design system. That doesn't really mean an awful lot though.

As for regulations in general, I'm sure there are many Imperial rules and regulations standardising spaceship parts and designs, they're just at below the level of detail the game system models. Also the design system isn't OTU Imperium specific, so putting in such rules and regulations would be unecessarily restrictive, but that doesn't mean some such rules and regulations cannot exist.

It would be just as valid to assume that such rules and regulations do exist, but that there are enough loopholes and exceptions that in practice they are only enforced to a limited extent. Maybe the Type-R has escape pods and a lifeboat pricisely because it was required to by some rule or regulation covering it's design. Maybe those regulations only apply at certain starports for certain classes of vessel. Maybe those regulations has since been rescinded. We don't actualy know for certain, in the setting, why it has these features.

Simon Hibbs

 

[Reynard]

"I think there's a bit of misscommunication here. No actual examples of what? The launch/lifeboat is an actual example of a lifeboat."

It is an example of a small craft whose description says "Also termed a lifeboat,..." but there are very few ships featuring it and no ship designs that specifically use it as a lifeboat. It can be used as one but the primary role, as with the more frequent ship's boat, is utilitarian.

No, we don't see big articles describing detailed Imperial Interstellar Regulations but those regulations are evident in ship designs we see in each edition's source material. None show common lifeboat practices let alone the launch as a lifeboat.

Might be wrong at the moment as I write this but I believe the Escape pod is a Mongoose creation. Someone actually realized the missing element. Rather than back engineer every ship design, they decided what vessel their new ship designs will feature escape pods mostly on high end commercial ships and military ships. That is how we see what the government at large regulates. How many here have actually read your country's laws and regulations on car seatbelts and restraints but, by looking at vehicles, you know the rules exist.

 

[CosmicGamer]

None of the vessels in 5000+ years have ever instituted mandatory lifeboat or escape pod requirements. Even commercial and military vessel, which seem to be the majority users of escape pod, are consistent, some do many don't and none have actual small craft sufficient to use as lifeboats. Escape pods are relatively small and inexpensive but it seems everyone would rather stay where it's safe or take their chances rather than give up tonnage. Why is that?

I started going into a long description but for simplicity I'll cover just:

A standard vacc suit has 6 hours of life support. Fast drug will increase this to 15 days.

A vacc suit with extended life support and a wearer who had fast drug could survive 45 days. Assuming the suits power can last that long.

Any system with even a single thrust one craft available could reach and provide rescue to most ships within the system or people who evacuate in an emergency.

As mentioned by others every time this topic comes up, there are at least two situations where alternatives could be warranted.

1) An emergency occurs in orbit or while landing or taking off. Refueling at a gas giant.
Rescue may not be able to arrive quickly enough before a reentry or crash scenario. You may need something more than a vacc suit. Perhaps HEVs with grav belts powerful enough to escape a gas giants gravity?

2) Extremely remote systems and locations.
Note that for a remote location within a star faring system you have to be very very very remote.

But no reason someone can't design the gear and SOP for ships that may have the need.

But what is the need? As this seams a special case I think it would be designed specific to the needs and not a generalized one fits all solution like a vacc suit.

Designing for a mining ship with a small crew that goes to a neighboring "empty hex" to mine a comet? (these ruffians may not want to waste much of their profit on safety measures for the "just in case")

Designed for a passenger liner that routinely runs a route where it refuels at the gas giant of an unpopulated system? (routine route for a commercially viable enterprise may = stationing emergency vehicles/equipment and even personnel in orbit)

Designing for a small trade ship that is just this one time taking some speculative cargo to a low tech world with no space capabilities? (but getting to the world = survive)

Designing for a lab ship jumping from one unpopulated location to another for several months to get to a extremely remote location to do research? (Need long term survival as rescue is far and long off)

And so on

As always, let me point out I am no space or math whiz. I am not calculating the exact times, distances and speeds for accelerating and then decelerating and matching velocities with those being rescued from an endless variety of possible locals, speeds and vectors from a variety of planets of different sizes, orbital speeds and locations.

However I believe with the earths 100d limit of aprox 12,750,000 km and orbital speed of 108,000 km/h and with a ship arriving from jump at a closing speed and vector of a mere 158,000 km/hr, we get a ship or it's escaped people arriving at the planet in 2 days even if they have no thrust/maneuverability.

Alternatively, a ship could be leaving the planet toward the 100d limit as earth orbits away and if something happens the earth and people that need rescue will continue moving apart making a rescue attempt take significantly longer.

 

[simonh]

It is an example of a small craft whose description says "Also termed a lifeboat,..." but there are very few ships featuring it and no ship designs that specifically use it as a lifeboat. It can be used as one but the primary role, as with the more frequent ship's boat, is utilitarian.

I agree it's primary role is utilitarian, it's a multi-role vessel, but that doesn't in any way preclude it being used as a lifeboat in an emergency (unless some idiot has filled up it's hold with additional cargo). The same goes for any sub-craft. I don't think text along the lines of "This sub craft on this vessel can be used as as life boat" is really necessary.

Simon Hibbs

 

[Reynard]

Thank you for pointing that out! I looked through my copy of Classic Traders and Gunboats and found what you meant. What you refer to is a variant on the standard launch featuring 6 emergency low berth, 3 tons cargo and 5 tons fuel. I'm going to sit outside and work up specs to place on the lifeboat thread. That may be where Mongoose uses the reference on their launch descriptor.

 

[Condottiere]

It's probably a purely economic equation, for commercial entities, and one of convenience, for private ones.