Star Trek Shuttles

[PTTG]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

There is absolutely no evidence for them using exhaust spewing reaction mass like that. Even if they specifically mentioned that that was their technology... which I don't particularly remember on screen.
ST:TNG did misuse real terms more often than even original series making it feel a bit more dated, in my opinion. Remember their amazing massive computer that could hold some absurdly tiny amount of data like a terabyte or something?

I think we're being Watsonian, in which case we can assume that the dialog was filtered through fail-able modern writers and limited by the expense of special effects.

[gruundehn]

I have the FASA Star Trek RPG and the supplement on building spaceships deals also with shuttles. The engines on the shuttles, according to FASA, are miniature versions of the engines on the starships. Thus, the shuttles can warp and fly normally in space just as a starship can. How does a starship maneuver? Whatever it is, the shuttle uses the same procedure, space atmosphere or whatever. The shuttles lift off from a landing pad using the same procedure regardless if the landing pad is on the ground or in a docking bay.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by thrash

Except the whole plot of The Galileo Seven, anyway -- especially the resolution.

In general, though, the episode isn't very helpful: shuttles run on battery power, that can be recharged from phasers?

My recollection about that episode is that the concerns were with lowering mass and having enough energy. I don't remember anything about reaction mass.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

There is absolutely no evidence for them using exhaust spewing reaction mass like that. Even if they specifically mentioned that that was their technology... which I don't particularly remember on screen.
ST:TNG did misuse real terms more often than even original series making it feel a bit more dated, in my opinion. Remember their amazing massive computer that could hold some absurdly tiny amount of data like a terabyte or something?

My understanding is that fusion reactors do power the impulse drives. In my campaigns at least, the impulse drives are fusion engines.

[thrash]

Originally Posted by Captain Joy

My recollection about that episode is that the concerns were with lowering mass and having enough energy. I don't remember anything about reaction mass.

Originally Posted by Memory Alpha

When they achieve orbital altitude, while chasing the Enterprise, Scott estimates they have enough fuel to maintain it for 45 minutes. At this point, Spock commits an act of desperation. He jettisons the fuel and ignites it in the hope that the Enterprise might see the flare and come to their rescue.

The Galileo Seven

[Gedrin]

I assume ST impulse engines work like fusion powered rockets in the same way nuclear submarine turbines work like tea kettles.

[Ulzgoroth]

The presence of fuel doesn't seem to imply reaction mass, necessarily.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by PTTG

I think we're being Watsonian, in which case we can assume that the dialog was filtered through fail-able modern writers and limited by the expense of special effects.

It's a big reason why certain gaming companies decided to avoid any and all real world measurements when creating new editions. ;)
Everything 3rd edition and Ultra tech now sounds very dated. Some retro feeling is unavoidable, and I'd be fine just adjusting numbers to suit whatever the present becomes, but using all sorts of made up units like Power Points in Spaceships avoids that particular problem all together.

Of course it leads to other issues like writers having to unconsciously or consciously use some kind of relationship to reality and therefore disagreement between products when someone does the math. Spaceships has Solar Plants producing over 100 times the power they could, and some others at least 10 times.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Captain Joy

My understanding is that fusion reactors do power the impulse drives. In my campaigns at least, the impulse drives are fusion engines.

As Ulzgoroth mentions above, power is not always reaction mass source.
Fusion power is where your energy comes from but not necessarily where your exhaust mass does.
The default Gurps fusion drive uses nuclear fusion for power but stored hydrogen for reaction mass. Or it could use water, ammonia, etc. for differing thrusts and delta velocities.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by thrash

Except the whole plot of The Galileo Seven, anyway -- especially the resolution.

In general, though, the episode isn't very helpful: shuttles run on battery power, that can be recharged from phasers?

I just looked at the Wikipedia entry for the episode as my memory is foggy. It says that they jettisoned and ignited their fuel. Fuel is not normal exhaust for most drives. So assuming that write up is correct, my statement still fits.

One could, grasping at straws here, conclude that phasers gave the required energy for the start up like how one may need to jump a car battery even though it mainly runs on gas.

Or again, sci fi writers not really getting or caring about massive differences in scales. Tiny pew pew vs. monumental energy required for planetary lift off. They wanted intentional helplessness for the story conflict, so just kludged a nice technobabble reason.