Stocking your Life Pod

[safisher]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

<shrug>It's a design adapted from one optimized to evacuate space stations in Earth orbit and after that L4 and 5. It's not so common an event that there is a bespoke design. The survival gear is also not unique tot eh mission but adapted from other sources.

I think it's fine as-is. It's a conceit anyway that a spaceship escape pod will have aviation type survival equipment for its occupants. It's assumed the pod is close to some place to land and survive or otherwise, yep, you all die. Make new characters.

[safisher]

Originally Posted by Rupert

I assume it machines them out of the block, though at TL10 it could just have nanites strip iron from the block and build the darts like a 3D printer. Whatever the actual mechanism it's obviously a very small and extremely specialised robofac coupled with a very optimistic effective solar power system. That gun must be absolutely black when charging.

I think it would be a hoot to have it and a special suitcase mini-fac in the escape pod which can produce the partisan needlers, knives, steel ingots, arrowheads, etc. You'd get a lot of use of that and a solar array to power it in a "boot strap explorers" type game.

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by safisher

I think it would be a hoot to have it and a special suitcase mini-fac in the escape pod which can produce the partisan needlers, knives, steel ingots, arrowheads, etc. You'd get a lot of use of that and a solar array to power it in a "boot strap explorers" type game.

That sounds like a TL10-11 survival kit - some crappy food and dodgy space blankets to get you through the first couple of days, a solar array, a robofac/nanofac with a whole bunch of blueprints, and a foodfac.

You land, you spend a few miserable days stuffing the 'facs with raw materials, and then you live an increasingly comfortable existence as long as the sunlight and the 'facs last.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Rupert

That sounds like a TL10-11 survival kit - some crappy food and dodgy space blankets to get you through the first couple of days, a solar array, a robofac/nanofac with a whole bunch of blueprints, and a foodfac.
.

It'd be mostly TL11. That's where the Foodfac is. 25lbs to turn anbny organic amtter into food or 10lbs for the stripped down Survival model which turns organic matter into what looks and (probably) tastes like pet food.

This was on my list for a higher TL version of the pod. The tL 10 highlights included things like a Bioplastic Backpack from Pyramid 3/12. It changes shape as necessary and can go from a backpack to a tent to a stretcher to a kayak and so on. It'a little heavy at 12 lbs though.

The real proze requires TL10^. With that you can have a 40lb portable fusion Generator (20 lbs at TL11^). Of course at TL11^ you've probably got unlimited air and water and your pod uses Reactionless Thrusters. Mix that with the 20 lb fusion gnerator and you've got a (really rather small) life boat that could take you anywhere in a solar ssytem as long as the Torpine holds out.

[safisher]

Originally Posted by Rupert

You land, you spend a few miserable days stuffing the 'facs with raw materials, and then you live an increasingly comfortable existence as long as the sunlight and the 'facs last.

Yep. And in Pyramid 96 we get the building seed, a specialized fac that can produce housing. So, it's possible that at TL10 you could simply unpack the facs and they would do the rest: food, shelter, and equipment all produced for you.

[Fred Brackin]

I found the solar cell numbers that could provide soem answers and enhance the life pod stuff.

They were in Infinite worlds along with soem numbers on power cell capcity (sort of). The IW power cells are caled c and d cells but are different weights than the UT types. If you adjust for that weight difference a UT TL9 rechargeable B cell ought to hold 25 watt hours. 10x as much for each class of cell higher and 4x as much per TL higher.

The IW solar cells at maximum collect 17 watts per hour per square foot with negligable weight but the practical average is stated to be more like 72 watt-hours per day.

Then we get some TL8 backpacks from HT which hold 50 lbs at a weight of 1.5 lbs and now we can get by with 4 identical packs. The question is how many sq. ft. we can cover the outsides of those packs with. Using the backs, sides and top we might be able to get the slightly less than 3 and 1/2 sq. ft we need to average 250 watt-hours per day. It'd make a nice round number anyway and let you recharge 1 C cell or 10 B cells per day. You'll need to add at least 1 C cell at 0.5 lbs to the pack to collect those watt-hours and transfer that to recharge your B cells when you camp.

So at least at TL9 this is looking fairly practical for a B cell based equipment list. For TL10+ weapons using C cells not so much. You might think the solar cells might become more efficinent at higher TLs but it won't be anything like the 4x performance you get from the power cells.

If you knew you were looking at an extreme desert survival situation you'd put the solar cells on the outsides of your tents and sleep all day and move at night. You'd get your tents from the TL8 ones in HT. There's a 1 lb, 1 man tent there that's the optimum solution in most cases. Yes four 1 man tents are lighter than 1 4 man tent cube/square law or not.

I may try for a fully revised list of all the gear in a day or two.

[Pursuivant]

The basic list seems pretty good, but I'm surprised that the life pod doesn't come equipped with basic survival equipment in addition to the 200 pounds of cargo space.

That's a requirement for modern lifeboats, so it makes sense that a similar regulation would/could apply to space vessels.

With the assumption that things like transponder beacons, radios, signal lights, first aid kits, basic rations, water purification, etc. are standard features you get a lot more room to customize loadouts.

Logically, given the distances involved and the likelihood that people in lifepods aren't going to be healthy, fully-trained space pilots and navigators, a lifepod should just put everyone into stasis or hibernation and start pumping out all sorts of SOS messages.

Most of the energy is used to keep life support going, possibly with limited recharge capacity from ambient external energy sources - if they're available.

Navigation consists of a slow, steady acceleration towards the nearest known safe planet or spacelane. SAI navigates the ship and handles "routine" hazard identification and communication until it decides that rescue is imminent - or it can no longer cope with the situation. At that point, it wakes the passengers.

A slightly more "deluxe" life pod should have the capacity to perform automated reentry into a planetary atmosphere, recycle air and water, possibly recycle wastes, provide entertainment and survival info, and serve as a habitat module once it's on the ground.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

The basic list seems pretty good, but I'm surprised that the life pod doesn't come equipped with basic survival equipment in addition to the 200 pounds of cargo space.

The 200 lbs is where the survival equipment goes. It is not supposed to be "general" cargo space.

What real equipment to help the passengers survive looks like would vary greatly depending on setting.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

If you knew you were looking at an extreme desert survival situation you'd put the solar cells on the outsides of your tents and sleep all day and move at night.

You want to move in the early morning and evening. Only over night with a full moon. Otherwise you risk too many injuries and losing your way in the dark.

Just a quick PSA.

[tanksoldier]

I think the point earlier in the thread about exactly where ships with lifepods would be used is well taken.

If they are civilian liners and freighters they are almost certainly plying the space between at least minimally developed worlds. If your lifepods can land on the world at all, land at the spaceport. Problem solved. Pods would have minimal survival supplies to get passengers thru the few days they might have to survive in the event of a malfunction that does put them down in wilderness but rescue would already be enroute. If civilian ships pass thru uninhabited, uninhabitable or lightly populated but still travelled systems they would have cryotubes or the equivalent. Even if you could land on an inhabitable but undeveloped planets the chance of injury or death trying to survival on the surface is far greater than simply sleeping in orbit until rescue. Put everyone to sleep, broadcast distress signals, shape an orbit towards the most travelled part of the system and wait for pickup.

So that’s my suggestion: civilian pods should have cryotubes, minimal survival gear and should rely on either almost immediate rescue or cryotubes to minimize resource expenditure and risk.

For military or exploratory service lifepods the chance of being in an inhabitable system is much lower. They might use off the shelf pods to save money, but the chances are they would use the cryotubes rather than landing on an inhabited world. You aren’t going to spend money on minifacs and generators when everyone can just sleep until rescue.

Exploratory service pods should focus on cryotubes and sustaining extended operation of the tubes.