Building your own Starship

srmeaney · 2005-07-22 17:14:48

Probably a good idea to add that Escape Pod!

Stormrage · 2005-07-23 06:56:19

Good idea has a scout ship or a science vessel?

srmeaney · 2005-07-26 04:26:40

No, seriously has anyone even bought the topic of life pods up?

We need to send a hundred thousand people to Mars every year and no one is considering that just maybe the ship wont make it?

Oh, and PS, was that rendered in Plastic?

Stormrage · 2005-07-26 05:58:04

It was made of wood and plastics.

Fledi · 2005-07-28 20:14:22

OK I know I'm just overstressing once more the comparison to sailing ship age problems but what could people do when their ship sank in mid of the ocean?
Rudder boats as escape vessels are only an option if you travel with more comfort than absolutely necessary which will not be the case with early colonist passenger ships.
The best thing to do is to make as many redudant systems as possible so you have reserves if one fails, without adding too much extra weight.
And splitting the ships in separate sections which can provide life support independently of each other is also a useful addition.

John Creighton · 2005-07-28 21:30:01

OK I know I'm just overstressing once more the comparison to sailing ship age problems but what could people do when their ship sank in mid of the ocean?
Rudder boats as escape vessels are only an option if you travel with more comfort than absolutely necessary which will not be the case with early colonist passenger ships.
The best thing to do is to make as many redudant systems as possible so you have reserves if one fails, without adding too much extra weight.
And splitting the ships in separate sections which can provide life support independently of each other is also a useful addition.

I think the Caltech mars society mission plan has two ships flying beside each other on the way to mars.

srmeaney · 2005-07-28 22:27:25

Is the Lifeboat more likely to be a detatchable module (with some propulsion) where you store your food and water?

OK I know I'm just overstressing once more the comparison to sailing ship age problems but what could people do when their ship sank in mid of the ocean?

They clung to a barrel of booze, that way the water was too toxic for sharks to eat them.

Austin Stanley · 2005-07-30 00:51:30

I can say with supream confidence that there will be no life boats or escape pods. Space is a harsh mistress, and if something goes wrong with the main vessle, then the entire crew will likely go down with it. There simply isn't room in realistic space vessle for entirely redudant life support system of the durations necessary for serious space travel, much less redudant propulsion systems. That's just the way it is.

idiom · 2005-07-30 01:56:52

The ISS has a life boat. Or it is meant to. Man the ISS suxor.

Gennaro · 2005-07-30 14:16:07

Ehum, might I ask what's the Sitz im Leben for these "starship" models? :?

reddragon · 2005-08-08 18:12:44

Escape pods could probably not be made with the propulsion power to reach a planet from somewhere far between two (such as Earth and Mars). However, if starships fly regular routes, you can escape in something small but with life support and wait for them to pick you up.

Austin Stanley · 2005-08-09 21:27:51

Wait for another ship to come by? Untill some REALY high ISP options come online we are talking about more than a year bettwen transits. You life support won't last that long.

And even if/when those high ISP options come online if you bail out of a space craft you are still traveling at the same speed that craft was moving at. That means that a rescue ship has not only to reach you (and you are likely to millions of miles away from anywhere out in the middle of space) but also has to match your velocity. This means a rescue ship coming from your point of departure has to overtake you, and ship leaving from your destination has to at some point halt of it's forward velocity and try and match yours. The amount of propellent this requires is extream, and probably impraticle.

GCNRevenger · 2005-08-09 22:40:02

Lets think about this a minute now... there are only two reasons why you would EVER want to leave your ship if you were in trouble:

1: Staying on the ship means certain death, such as a nuclear reactor melting down, fuel fire, or other short-term threat to the survival of the crew... Some reason why you need to get AWAY from the ship, rather then carrying backup life support, RTGs for power, and maneuvering fuel on the main ship, which is much easier.

2: You require some modest delta-V to avoid certain death in a short timeframe, such as your main ship's orbit is rapidly decaying or its orbital transfer burn failed or whatnot, but the ships' main propulsion is unavailable/insufficent... In this case, a small light-weight escape pod requires far less energy to stabilize your orbit or nudge away from an impending firey plunge or something. The ability for the pod to reenter safely from transit orbital velocities would be a must, which probobly means a capsule big enough to accomodate the crew.

Otherwise, it really is easier just to build your main ship with redundancy then to bother including a pod with dedicated power/life support/propulsion for the entire crew for a modest length of time.

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#1 2005-07-22 17:14:48

Re: Building your own Starship

#2 2005-07-23 06:56:19

Re: Building your own Starship

#3 2005-07-26 04:26:40

Re: Building your own Starship

#4 2005-07-26 05:58:04

Re: Building your own Starship

#5 2005-07-28 20:14:22

Re: Building your own Starship

#6 2005-07-28 21:30:01

Re: Building your own Starship

#7 2005-07-28 22:27:25

Re: Building your own Starship

#8 2005-07-30 00:51:30

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#9 2005-07-30 01:56:52

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#10 2005-07-30 14:16:07

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#11 2005-08-08 18:12:44

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