[Spaceships] Interstellar Colony Ships

[Langy]

Ramscoops allow you to decelerate like a magsail if you're going under 1800mps. Also, I figure if you're willing to just coast for a while with the ramscoop operating but not your fusion rocket you can just collect some of that interstellar hydrogen and refill your fuel tanks. I see no reason this shouldn't work.

[ed_209a]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

STL interstellar civilisations need to adopt a very leisurely pace of change anyway.

Which would drive which? Would a fast civilization intentionally slow themselves down in order to be interstellar, or would only a slow-advancing civilization consider STL colonization in the first place?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by ed_209a

Which would drive which? Would a fast civilization intentionally slow themselves down in order to be interstellar, or would only a slow-advancing civilization consider STL colonization in the first place?

Interstellar colonization at STL isn't that hot for anyone, unless you seriously stretch the concept of colonization. The extreme impracticality of material exchange means you're only the same civilization as your colony by convention. And light-lag means even exchange of ideas is running decades behind.

Doesn't matter how leisurely your rate of change is, the fact that anyone who decides they don't like you anymore has so much time before you can reach them to do anything about it means that nobody really controls anything outside their solar system.