The Instant Colony

[rust]

You already have a tug moving into orbit to put the colony down - the satellites could be deployed then. Or perhaps even before then, assuming that there is at least one scouting trip to the planet in a small ship prior to the colony going there.

Yep, the other solutions would only be needed if satellites had to be ad-
ded later on (for example after that solar flare discussed in one of the
other threads ...) or after modifications or repairs.

 

[BP]

Uh, the title of this post brings to mind a slightly different topic...

The Instant Colony - just add water!

['Dehydrated' colonists with inflatable gear all stored in a collapsed matter sphere injected into a system from light years away...]

 

[Captain Jonah]

Try these instead.

http://www.darpa.mil/tto/programs/vulture/index.html

 

[rust]

Try these instead.
http://www.darpa.mil/tto/programs/vulture/index.html

There have been some projects with solar powered high altitude airships,
too, but in the end I suspect that a satellite would be more affordable.

 

[BP]

Yeah, love the wording on the DARPA site, though.

Came across something on a similar project a few days ago listing actual funding to the tune of $400 million. The altitude was near space (stratosphere ) - which, given the cost of satellites, might not be a bad proposition.

BTW: found the link http://www.greendiary.com/entry/amazing-futuristic-airships-for-sustainable-air-travel/

A large airship as a living shelter might be a good economical proposition for new settlement - its easily moved, could be very efficient to transport to the world, avoids ground fauna issues and can be moved to avoid weather issues, and it is sufficiently low TL to be supportable in a frontier setting...

Might be just the thing for a water world setting, come to think about it.

[P.S. - ran across this today,
http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=a-census-catalogues-the-worlds-marine-species
and thought of your campaign, especially like the Venus Flytrap Anemone (5th one), scaled up for human or water vehicle size.]

 

[rust]

Thank you very much for the interesting links.

 

[AndrewW]

Floating colonies have been proposed for Venus.

 

[locarno24]

Inflatbles (of any stripe) are good, general-purpose way of saving volume.

Inflatable-wheeled vehicles are a concept that's been mooted for planetary exploration rovers*, and (with volume being more important than mass) are probably a nice idea to pre-pack if you're likely to be using them on a world with a low enough gravity and a non-corrosive atmosphere.

Inflatable tent additions to your colony station also work - for that matter, an inflatable addition to an 'instant highport' allows you to add volume from nowhere (you'd be best using something like water for the inflating - it gives you the ability to ship heat around inside the skin of the the inflated structure and a thick layer of water is a good impact absorber and a pretty good supplementary radiation screen



* http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/18023/1/99-1479.pdf

 

[Silvereye]

There is also something like Zephyr - the launch video is worth watching. The benefit of any form of aircraft is that you get time on station if you need to monitor anything in real time and you can move it to other sites easily. Long term survey in a particular island group? Task a plane to stay overhead to ensure communications and sensors and stuff. Should also fly high enough to avoid any bad weather and be much more likely to get a signal from a small satellite cloud.

 

[rust]

Thank you for good ideas, Locarno24 and Silvereye.

 

[BP]

Don't forget other inflation type construction methods (ala blown glass)...

Could be extra useful in water and space settings - where the extreme environs can near-instantly cure the surface (size dependent on injection quantity and expansion gas). Added structural and protective 'coatings' could be further injected...

 

[AndrewW]

Just happened to run across this:

The idea behind a communications satellite is simple: send a signal into space, and send it back down to another spot on the globe. In NASA's early days, engineers discovered the easiest way to accomplish this: bounce signals off a giant metal balloon floating in orbit. The concept was developed into the aptly-named Echo program, and Echo 1A became the first successful launch of the project on Aug. 12, 1960. Echo 1A, now commonly known as just Echo I, was a 100 foot diameter balloon made of mylar polyester. The spacecraft was designed as a passive communications reflector for transcontinental and intercontinental telephone, radio, and television signals.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1738.html

 

[rust]

Thank you for the ECHO info, this looks like a really affordable way to
establish a transoceanic connection.

 

[AndrewW]

Thank you for the ECHO info, this looks like a really affordable way to
establish a transoceanic connection.

No problem. First thing I thought of when I saw that was this thread.