Space Voyage #1

[Pyrotex]

Excerpt from "Lessons learnt in circumnavigation" by Captain James R. Smith of the East India Company:...BE NICE TO THE COOK UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

This may in fact be the long-sought-for Platinum Rule

 

So, of our 48 modules {how big were they again?} we need to itemize what they are used for. I propose for a start:

 

2 Bridge Modules -- The command centers, where the Captain, the NavOfficer, the ChiefScientist, the ChiefEngineer, and the bridge "crew" (in their cute miniskirts, bikini tops and mesh stockings) monitor and control the Motley Cruiser. Also contains the repair and storage depots for the little cars that run along the inside of the hab-ring, providing express transportation anywhere along the hab-ring. Also contain the master computers and the largest recreational areas.

 

4 Work Modules -- This is where the scientists, engineers, unmanned probe controllers, mission controllers for the moon landers, and internal engineers who monitor all aspects of the ship's internal plumbing, engines, etc, have their work stations. The outsides are bristling with communication antennas and sensing instruments. Also contains the labs, machine shops and the surgical wards.

 

12 Hab Modules -- Main living quarters, with room for 60 people in each module. That's 16 single suites, 16 double suites, and 4 four-person suites. Yeah, that's an extra 4 beds per module. Each module contains one kitchen, one cafeteria, and a variety of utility rooms, such as laundry, first-aid room and a variety of meeting/entertainment rooms. This gives us room for 720 people for the entire ship.

 

8 Stinky Modules -- Electrical power distribution systems (EPS). Reaction Control Systems (RCS) including steering jets, local tanks of H2 and O2. Fuel cells, for local (emergency) generation of electrical power. Also contain the central waste recycling utilities. {All waste and sewage from all other modules is piped here for separation and processing.} Also contain the airlocks, and equipment intended for external use.

 

8 Cargo Modules -- These modules are devoted to storage and tankage. Frozen food, dried food, water, air, clothing, spare pumps, tools, fottacytes, mortistats, befuddling pins and stuff.

 

8 Garden Modules -- The hydroponic and agricultural modules. Enough said.

 

6 -- {Currently not identified}

 

At the front end of the Motley Cruiser are 7 large cylindrical storage depots. I suggest that five of the outer six each contain two (2) vertical descent/ascent single-stage landers, repair and maintenance hangers, various interchangeable habitation and/or cargo pods, and fuel tankage (H2, O2). The typical lander can put 5 tons on Mars, 12 tons on the Moon, even more on smaller moons.

 

One of the outer six will contain two (2) winged STOL single-stage landers, and all supporting stuff. They can put 3 tons on Mars and still get back to the ship (or 12 tons with refuel-drop from orbit). They can put 6 tons on Titan (or 15/rdo).

 

The innermost of the cylindrical depots contain hundreds of autonomous probes carrying everything from cameras/telescopes in visual, infrared, UV, etc, radar, radiation detectors, magnetic field detectors, you name it. Many of the probes are intended to be landed on the surface of a moon; some of them have autonomous rovers.

[InfiniteNow]

pssst.... that's a different ship. :shrug: This one's the Prophesy.

 

 

Cheers. :beer:

[Kayra]

hundreds of autonomous probes

 

 

Ooh, can I be in charge of the probes?

[TheBigDog]

I was watching a show about Apollo 11 with my 3 year old. He has not stopped talking about footprints on the moon, and wanting to have his footprints on the moon too. So I am taking him along, at least for the space trials to the moon. #4 is the offical cute little kid.

 

Bill

[TheBigDog]

Has anyone calculated the rotation speed of this thing yet to maintain 1G at a 100 meter radius?

 

While we are at it, the sections are 10 meters high outside, so we have room inside for 3 decks in each section. What will the gravity on each deck be if the outer deck is at 1G? The floor of the outer deck is 100 meters from the axis.

 

Bill

[Janus]

Has anyone calculated the rotation speed of this thing yet to maintain 1G at a 100 meter radius?

 

3 rpm

. The speed at the rim will be about 31.3 m/sec

 

While we are at it, the sections are 10 meters high outside, so we have room inside for 3 decks in each section. What will the gravity on each deck be if the outer deck is at 1G? The floor of the outer deck is 100 meters from the axis.

 

Bill

The other two decks will be at 0.97g and 0.94g

[Kayra]

Suggestion: Keep several modules as detachable self contained units. They can be dropped off at any place that will require a permanent or semi-permanent orbital habitat. (in two's ).

 

All units should be detatchable so that they may also serve as life boats.

[Janus]

A design possibility for our manned landers:

 

[Janus]

Oh, and while I'm at it, how about a layout for our control room?

 

:shrug:

[InfiniteNow]

Look... there's Spock right over there! :shrug:

[TheBigDog]

I am beginning to realize why we have no hot chicks on the ship yet. I remember going to Trek conventions and trying to pick the worst haircut. Not many "hookups" around the Klingon area.

 

Bill

[TheBigDog]

A design possibility for our manned landers:

 

Do you have any specs for this craft? Looks great!

 

Bill

[Jay-qu]

Thats really cool Janus, but cant we have a bigger window, cameras are cool but I want to see things with my own eyes :shrug:

[TheFaithfulStone]

Awesomeness.

 

In POV-RAY!

 

POV-RAY

 

TFS

[Jay-qu]

I have Maya on disk - is that good? I never used it..

[TheFaithfulStone]

Yes. Quite.

 

Maya isn't for the feint of heart or anything, but doing something that complex in POV-Ray... it's just... maschositic.

 

If I get some time, Maybe I'll put together some renders of our spaceship in Lightwave. Chances that I have that kind of time are slim though.

 

TFS

[POV-RAY!]

[TheBigDog]

We're launching June 1st, so everyone look alive!

Racoon, we are adding task master to your list of titles. :)

 

Pyro, I love your suggestion for the allocation of the deckspace. We have even more options than that actually. Each pod can have one, two or three levels. The connections are all on the bottom level, so that level is where traffic will be happening. There can be combinations of ladders, stairs and elevators within a pod to the upper levels. The center bay is actually a zero g lab. It not only contains the docking bay at the tip, but airlocks into the outer six cargo bays where the other equipment is stored.

 

Another thing I think we need is a manned vehicle that can walk around on the outside of the ship to allow external maintenance. There would be more than one of these so teams can do big jobs on the outside safely and easily. These would actually be the vehicles that were used to assemble the ship in Earth orbit. These are also how we get to the central cargo bay. The spokes are hollow and have crawl access for maintenance to remote parts of the ship as well.

 

Back to allocating the sections. I want the entire leading ring, all twelve pods to be dedicated to renewable supplies, meaning farming. Some of them may be single level, so large fruit trees can be grown so we don't get space scurvy. This is not a Tang ship, we eat real food. And I think we should keep bees, goats, chickens, and maybe pigs. I am not going vegetarian, and I like honey. Goats are probably the most versatile animal. With the proper type you get milk, leather, fat for soap, meat and fleece for fabric. And you can use the horns and hooves for something too, I am sure. I know Racoon is agricultural, but we may need a farmer on board. One or more.

 

And a blacksmith. We should have a supply of raw metals that a skilled blacksmith could craft into all sorts of replacement parts as needed. We are going to be high tech, and down to basics at the same time. Any volunteers for resident metal fabricator?

 

And one final thing. During some of the exteded drift periods as we have spare time between destinations I look forward to some all out full ship laser tag. Maybe we even slow the rotation so we have the whole ship at low G for the game. :) :lol: :eek: :evil:

 

Some more data... The decks of each outer rings float on a system of water filled tubes. This ring of water help insure that the vehicle is always balanced. This bed of water is about .5 meters deep, 9.5 meters wide. This is almost 3,000,000 liters of water. Our ventilation systems gather excess moisture from the air and put it back into the water supply. Portions of it are the waste system, and that water is purified and put pack into the main supply. This is a highly redundant system to insure that contamination does not get into the whole system, and should there be a leak, it will only effect one system. We will need a full time engineer to maintain the whole water system.

 

More to come. I am hope the jouney is as much fun as the preparations!

 

Bill (t-20)