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Old 04-24-2014, 05:53 AM   #21
scc
 
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

Bugger, missed that bit on the Lowell, as for the thing about multi-stage being streamlined, that's on SS, pages 9 and 35, page 9 alludes to it when saying that upper-stages only need armor on the up most stage (I think there's an unwritten rule about all stages being of the same streaming lining) and on 35 being unstreamlined cuts speed in atmosphere by 10, pretty important for a booster
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Old 04-24-2014, 06:21 AM   #22
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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Bugger, missed that bit on the Lowell, as for the thing about multi-stage being streamlined, that's on SS, pages 9 and 35, page 9 alludes to it when saying that upper-stages only need armor on the up most stage (I think there's an unwritten rule about all stages being of the same streaming lining) and on 35 being unstreamlined cuts speed in atmosphere by 10, pretty important for a booster
Speed in atmosphere might be realistically important for a booster, but it's got no bearing whatsoever under Spaceships rules.

That 'unwritten rule' seems to me to be not written for good cause. If you interpret standard launchers as being streamlined (which you probably should), how do you account for the fact that space probes and satellites are nearly always unstreamlined? It also makes perfect sense in theory for a winged (and thus streamlined) final stage to be attached to a space-only unstreamlined lower stage.

The Midnight Sun example craft is streamlined because the upper stage is winged, so it has to be.
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Old 04-24-2014, 07:16 AM   #23
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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That 'unwritten rule' seems to me to be not written for good cause. If you interpret standard launchers as being streamlined (which you probably should), how do you account for the fact that space probes and satellites are nearly always unstreamlined?
Good point here. You could have an unstreamlined upper stage protected under a break-away fairing. The lower-stage booster is streamlined, with any extra mass for the fairing mechanism subsumed into the mass of the front armor.
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Old 04-24-2014, 02:29 PM   #24
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

Maybe I'm reading too much into stuff, but page 9 of Spaceships is, how ever, VERY CLEAR that if the lowest stage of a multi-stage rocket is streamlined the upper most stage requires armor
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Old 04-24-2014, 02:41 PM   #25
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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Maybe I'm reading too much into stuff, but page 9 of Spaceships is, how ever, VERY CLEAR that if the lowest stage of a multi-stage rocket is streamlined the upper most stage requires armor
No, it's actually the opposite. If the upper stage is streamlined with armor, the lower stage doesn't require armor to also be streamlined. At least, that's how I read it, keeping in mind that unstreamlined upper stages make sense, aren't forbidden in the text, and show up in some of the example designs.

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Old 04-24-2014, 03:20 PM   #26
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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No, it's actually the opposite. If the upper stage is streamlined with armor, the lower stage doesn't require armor to also be streamlined. At least, that's how I read it, keeping in mind that unstreamlined upper stages make sense, aren't forbidden in the text, and show up in some of the example designs.
What's wrong with a booster lifting off of an airless planet? No need for armor then.
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Old 04-24-2014, 04:26 PM   #27
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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What's wrong with a booster lifting off of an airless planet? No need for armor then.
The armor is a requirement for streamlining, not a requirement for atmospheric flight. You are allowed to make an unstreamlined, unarmored ship that rockets around in atmosphere if you want to.
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Old 04-24-2014, 04:35 PM   #28
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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What's wrong with a booster lifting off of an airless planet? No need for armor then.
Airlessness has nothing to do with it, the rules require streamlined spaceships to mount at least one armor system, the exception being lower stage rockets, then only the upper-most stage must mount armor
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Old 04-24-2014, 04:54 PM   #29
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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Airlessness has nothing to do with it
Other than streamlining being totally irrelevant in the absence of air.
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Old 04-24-2014, 05:08 PM   #30
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Default Re: [Spaceships 5] Eggshells and Eastereggs

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Other than streamlining being totally irrelevant in the absence of air.
Under the rules it's also irrelevant for any launch from a planet into space, unless you're trying to benefit from an air-breathing stage.
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