Ship Design Philosophy

I would speculate it's origin is Trillion Credit.

Trillion Credit Squadron 1981:
Collapsible Tanks: Large fuel bladders can be used to hold additional fuel; the
collapsible tanks are filled with fuel and take up space in the ship's main cargo hold.
It must have a hold equal to, or greater than, the tonnage required for the collap-
sible tanks, and the tanks displace tonnage in the cargo hold when in use
 
Starships: Accommodations and Fuel Storage

V. If it's intended for additional fuel storage, access is by UNREP to the primary fuel tank, through the hull.

W. If it's for personnel or cargo, then either hatch(es), or airlock(s), through the hull.

X. We don't know if the external cargo mount is airtight, but we'll assume it isn't

Y. More important, if the side walls are solid, or just rails that corral the cargo.

Z. It's certainly implied that there are gates or hatches that allow access.
 
Starships: Accommodations and Fuel Storage

1. Alternatively, you could switch out the fuel bladder with the mountable fuel tank.

2. These tanks are used to convert cargo space into working fuel tanks with all the pumps and feed lines required.

3. Fuel can be used directly from these tanks, enabling ships to make longer jumps than they would be able to on their own tanks (however, they are still limited by the capability of their jump drive).

4. When empty, these tanks consume the same space as when they are full and cannot be used for anything but fuel.

5. It takes four weeks to add or remove mountable fuel tanks to a ship’s cargo spaces.

6. Unlikely you can use the organic plumbing to penetrate the hull.

7. I'd say if you can flush out the tanks, you can use them for something else.

8. Essentially, you're still installing them in a cargo space, just that it happens to be exterior to the primary hull.

9. Being (pre)installed in an external cargo mount, installation time is what's required to attach the external cargo mount to the primary hull.
 
Starships: Accommodations and Fuel Storage

A. You might be wondering, if we have to cut into the mounted tanks to gain access.

B. These are containers designed to float within the hydrogen fuel tanks of a ship and are harder than concealed compartments to detect, as even a thorough examination of the ship does not detect the compartment unless the fuel tanks are opened and searched.

C. Such compartments can only be accessed when the fuel tank is at least three-quarters empty.

D. Apparently, there are fuel tank hatches.

E. And likely, large enough for tonne lots.

F. The plumbing can be partially converted to include air and heat.
 
Spacecraft: How to Dock a Sci-Fi Spaceship

Spacedock demonstrates nominative determinism by talking about docking in space.




1.
autodock-software.jpg


2. Non cooperative docking.
 
Starships: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Dropping Off A Cliff

1. I was recalculating the Liberty, since I suddenly had doubts whether every thing fits.

2. I wondered if I should add in the Deep Space Manoeuvring System, especially considering it was primarily a patrol ship.

3. So, I decided to figure out how that worked in a system that I actually was familiar with.

4. You know, the Solar one.

5. Thousand diameters is a tad short of Saturn.

6. But the gap was short enough, that you could coast over to it.

7. Hundred diameters, just short of Terra.

8. That would appear to make jaunts to Neptune, Pluto, and Uranus, rather longer than a jump to Alpha Centauri.

9. Which, if there's anything worth visiting in the outer system, rather attractive for microjumping.
 
Starships: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Dropping Off A Cliff

A. So, what we have is the inner zone, a hectodiameter, which you can't jump into.

B. The outer zone, a kilodiameter, where you can't manoeuvre.

C. And the one in the middle, where you can do both.

D. The goldilocks zone.

E. The first, you can shrink with a customized jump drive.

F. The second, you can overcome, with a Deep Space Manoeuvring System.
 
Starships: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Dropping Off A Cliff

G. Derived acceleration sucks at early technological levels, though something is better than nothing.

H. You multiply power requirements by four.

I. And the cost by an additional sixty percent, which seems, by itself, reasonable.

J. The additional volume required is large.

K. But does shrink each technological level.
 
Starships: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Dropping Off A Cliff

L. Easiest option for outer zone travelling is microjumping.

M. Default, that's ten tonnes of fuel, ten tonne jump drive at fifteen megastarbux, so an added twenty tonnes and fifteen megastarbux.

N. Almost begging for the Venture Drive, one hundred twenty parsec tonnes at nine megastarbux.

O. Default technological level nine Deep Space Manoeuvring Drive is an additional two size manoeuvre drives, at one twentieth gee acceleration.

P. At two megastarbux per tonne for the manoeuvre drive, plus one and one fifth megastarbux per tonne.
 
Starships: Engineering, Manoeuvre Drive, and Dropping Off A Cliff

Q. Ramscoops are passive hydrogen collectors that operate automatically whenever a starship is manoeuvring in normal (non-jump) space.

R. Let's assume one twentieth gee is enough.

S. Definitely something you'd want onboard if you find yourself in an empty hex, with near empty tanks.

T. I would guess, this is where the plasma drive comes in.

U. One percent with acceleration one twentieth at twenty percent more cost, versus two additional percent with quadruple power points, at sixty percent more cost.
 
Inspiration: Space: 1999 Eagle Rebuild — The Complete 50th Anniversary Edition

Originally released as separate episodes in the lead-up to Space: 1999’s 50th anniversary, this complete rebuild story has been refreshed with new music and pacing. This is the definitive, evergreen version of dP's 2024/25 Eagle Transporter project. If you watched either of the original videos prior to the anniversary, a sincere thank you for revisiting our work!

0:00 Introduction
1:25 Building the Eagle Transporter
3:17 Week 7
5:05 TrueSpace Cockpit
9:07 Pilot Consoles
13:14 Modern Upgrades
15:35 Bonus Content
16:52 End Credits




1. Thirty metres.

2. Spine.

3. Landing pads.

4. Lazyboy.

5. Digital viewscreen.

6. Data link.

7. Unbalanced engines.

8. Separate manoeuvre drives.

9. Podlocks.

A. Mounted laser.

B. Solar panelling.

C. Batteries.

D. Escape hatch.

E. Hinge the leg rests.
 
Spacecraft: Hulls, Armour, and External Cargo Mounts

1. Design rules state that we can't alter the hull.

2. Which includes increasing the hull armour factor.

3. However, we can cover the hull with external cargo mounts.

4. And the cargo mounted would be hull armour plating.

5. Because the attachment of the external cargo mount to the hull is fragile, the cargo mounts are likely broken off after being hit.

6. However, they do have to be hit, first.

7. This would make external cargo mounted hull plating ablative, in nature.

8. And if external cargo mounts are evenly distributed, only a specific localized area of hull would lose the additional armour plating.

9. Though, under junkerification rules, you could always just weld them on.
 
Spacecraft: Hulls, Armour, and External Cargo Mounts

A. The obvious problem with this, is that it covers the hull.

B. Any weapon system installed under it, won't be able to target the enemy.

C. Exceptionally, meson weapon systems.

D. Optionally, and more expensively, you could attach a piece of armoured hull to a docking clamp.

E. The enemy would first need to penetrate through the docked armoured hull to get to the primary hull.

F. The docked armour hull would remain attached, as long as the docking clamp itself remains undamaged.
 
Spacecraft: Hulls, Armour, and External Cargo Mounts

G. Optionally, you could install docking clamps on hamster cages.

H. The hamster cages would then have attached large armoured hull plating, and place themselves between their spacecraft and the enemy.

I. You could layer it further with hamster cage arms at various lengths.

J. Being mobile, they could, at the appropriate time, unmask the weapon systems installed on the primary hull, allowing them to have a direct line of sight to the enemy.

K. The mechanics could be the same as a black globe, but, with more mechanical parts.
 
Starships: Hulls, Configuration, and External Cargo Mounts

1. Instead of carrying cargo inside the hull, a ship can be designed to mount cargo in an external rack or framework.

2. But closed or open?

3. Ships with streamlined or dispersed structure hull configurations cannot use external cargo mounts.

4. Presumably, because it breaks up the streamlining.

5. Though, that shouldn't prevent the erection of external cargo mounts on a streamlined hull.

6. Dispersed structure seems ideal for another set of module attachments.

7. Though, I suppose, it might lack the structural integrity to form a solid basis for the flimsier external cargo mounts.

8. Cargo carried externally can only be accessed outside the ship by vacc suit or vehicle.

9. Sure, we have cargo hatches, and ye airlock.
 
Spacecrafts: Armaments, and DEADLY Nuclear Lasers as Sci-Fi Weapons

Spacedock looks into powerful Nuclear Lasers and their sci-fi applications.




 
Starships: Hulls, Configuration, and External Cargo Mounts

A. Landing a ship with external cargo mounts is a dangerous procedure, so these ships can have difficulties trading at worlds without a shuttle fleet or highport.

B. Landing a ship requires a Difficult (10+) Pilot check.

C. Failure results in a Critical Hit to the cargo contained in the mount, with each point of negative Effect causing one level of severity, as described in the Critical Hit Effect chart on page 170 of the Traveller Core Rulebook.

D. For example, a failed check with two points of negative Effect results in 1D x 10% of cargo destroyed.

E. That's potentially a lot of cargo.

F. One assumes that carries over to combat damage.
 
Inspiration: Stalled Trek: The Dumbsday Machine — Full Movie

We saved the dumbest one for last! Captain Krok and the crew of the USS Secondprize come face to face with a weapon of mass digestion! An Animated Puppet Parody of the classic Trek episode!


 
Inspiration: Stalled Trek: Prelude to Ax'd-We-Are (an Animated Puppet Parody by Mark R. Largent)

Stalled Fleet History turned hysterical. Fan Films are everywhere these days and they are looking more and more professional. Not everybody is happy about that.




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