[Starport/Downport] Armed & Armored or ?

[Dave Chase]

Should a port be armed, armored and/or have ships protecting it?

Does the class of the port require that it be ready for battle?

Should a spaceport be able to move, even if slowly, and do evasive maneuvers or just have enough thrusters to do station keeping?

How many lifepods, escape pods or other safety devices/vehicles should a space port have?

Should a port (down or space) have rescue boats/ships to aid space craft/ships in their area?
If they have such, how far out are they allowed to go from the port to render aid?

Dave Chase

 

[BP]

Since ports aren't explicit military - armour and defenses would seem situational dependent. At any rate, class would likely factor in, but not determine the nature of such.

A Class C in a border system subject to conflict would likely be armoured and have passive if not active defenses. While a Class A in a well established inner system parsecs removed from any conflict or pirate activities would probably not.

As to emergency facilities and rescue vessels and procedures - some would seem likely to be minimum standards (again, not necessarily directly based on Class as much as scale and TL of local system - i.e. range might be defined based on time and developed M-Drives...).

Given the expanses of space in a system, I would not expect rescue services on a par with say what residences of cities are used to - but rather more like sea going vessels. Aid is likely to be expected for any vessel in distress within a system - how available and how long, however, and whether civilian, commercial, or military would be situationaly dependent. Regardless of anything else, a vessel in a system poses at least future dangers and would likely be addressed. Of course, any 'rescue' would likely involve fees and questioning and possible legal issues.

 

[rust]

Should a port be armed, armored and/or have ships protecting it?

In a Third Imperium setting a port controlled by the Imperium will always
have defensive capabilities, and most other ports are likely to have them,
too. In other settings, I would restrict it to naval ports, with civilian ports
having only normal security and law enforcement capabilities available.

Should a spaceport be able to move, even if slowly, and do evasive maneuvers or just have enough thrusters to do station keeping?

It would be prudent either to design the port as semi-mobile or to have a
kind of tug at the port, just in case that piece of space debris is coming
in.

How many lifepods, escape pods or other safety devices/vehicles should a space port have?

I am a bit sceptical that lifepods and thelike would make much sense for
a port, a busy port with thousands of passengers moving through could
hardly ever have enough lifepods for all of the crew and passengers.
What I would expect to exist would be an emergency evacuation plan, de-
tailing which parts of the port are designed and designated as "safe areas"
(= basically "big interior lifepods"), and how the people there can be eva-
cuated from outside of the port.

Should a port (down or space) have rescue boats/ships to aid space craft/ships in their area?
If they have such, how far out are they allowed to go from the port to render aid?

Yes, I think that there should be emergency services. As for their "reach",
I think the only possible answer would be "as far as necessary and possi-
ble", because I cannot imagine that a rescue crew would let crew and pas-
sengers of a ship die because they have the bad luck to be on the other
side of an imaginary border line.

 

[Hopeless]

Should a port be armed, armored and/or have ships protecting it?

If the dm desires it to be so then yes.
Ideally the better the starport then the more likely it would have defences.

If its run by humans then yes otherwise this can vary depending on the culture of the race that runs the place.

Well Babylon V can but not very well at all!

As many as the dm desires.

I'd recommend watching Babylon V's first season episode "Babylon Squared" where B5 goes to the rescue of an apparently returning Babylon IV space station

For how much armour examine the armour available for that TL and use that as a guide, weapons wise well that really depends on what you assume they would put on such a location whether it be a space station or a planetary spaceport.

Now I'm going to hunt down a link to that B5 episode I mentioned!

 

[phavoc]

Should a port be armed, armored and/or have ships protecting it?

Ports will have defenses. Orbital ports won't be armored as an orbital fortress (unless that is what they are), but they will have the same sort of protections a starship has. Ports buit out of hollowed asteroids will have a higher armor factor than most ships.

Does the class of the port require that it be ready for battle?

No. Where the port is located and the situation it may face will govern that rule. All ports are going to have an alert level, with weapons stations armed (most likely automated) and ships are ready-alert to deal with emergencies. But they won't have all their battle capabilities on-line unless the situation warrants it.

Should a spaceport be able to move, even if slowly, and do evasive maneuvers or just have enough thrusters to do station keeping?

Most all stations are going to be fitted with thrusters to allow it to stay in one place. For some stations, anything beyond station keeping will be impossible. Most stations won't be able to maneuver theirselves anywhere. And I wouldn't think ANY station would be capable of evasive maneuvers. It's just a big fat juicy target...that sometimes has a nasty sting.

How many lifepods, escape pods or other safety devices/vehicles should a space port have?

A station should have sufficient evacuation capabilities for all personnel, guests and residents. It's in space, so in an emergency people gotta get the hell outa dodge or they die. Traveller has not really ever done a good job about that sort of thought concept. It's more stuck in the pre-Titanic days than modern times. Today ships and sea structures are required by law to be able to evacuate their personnel, and to locate emergency rafts, boats and other devices in multiple places to allow for some destruction of the life boats (none of this "oops.. THE lifeboat got destroyed. we're dead"). At least on commercial things. And larger structures. Small ships are just stuck since they simply have no room for redundancy.

Should a port (down or space) have rescue boats/ships to aid space craft/ships in their area?
If they have such, how far out are they allowed to go from the port to render aid?

Yes. Larger, busier ports are going to have a more robust capability to perform rescues. Small, and non-Imperial starports are going to be a crapshoot. Remember that all systems are most likely going to have regular orbital traffic among planets, asteroid belts, etc. Not all traffic is going to be starship only.

 

[iainjcoleman]

Armour and point-defence lasers make sense for all highports. They defend against the hazards of asteroids and space debris, if nothing else.

Further armament would depend on the situation, but in general I'd imagine the big guns would be on system defence boats rather than the highport itself.

 

[vitalis6969]

Should a port be armed, armored and/or have ships protecting it?

Yes. basic armor and point defense lasers at least for space junk. A small systems boat or two outfitted as patrol boats w/ weapons.

Does the class of the port require that it be ready for battle?

No, that would be only if a naval base was in-system.

Should a spaceport be able to move, even if slowly, and do evasive maneuvers or just have enough thrusters to do station keeping?

Station keeping only.

How many lifepods, escape pods or other safety devices/vehicles should a space port have?

As many as are needed/required by Imperial law/decree or if the host planet is paying, as many as they would like in excess of Imperial law/decree. Bad press and STUPID planning if there weren't many fail-safes in place. Space will kill you dead if you give it the smallest chance, sealing bulkheads and at least SOME lifeboats should be mandatory.

Should a port (down or space) have rescue boats/ships to aid space craft/ships in their area?
If they have such, how far out are they allowed to go from the port to render aid?

Yeah, these guys would be like the U.S. Coast Guard rescue units and they would probably go to whatever lengths is practical to save lives or recover salvage. If something was within the 100 dia limit, probably max emergency response time. Something out at the gas giant fueling point? Depends on the resources of the port.

-V