ORICHALCUM UNIVERSE: Spacecraft...

[Johnny1A.2]

NBX Class Transatmospheric Transport SHEFMAN

This is an example of a spacecraft used by many Terrans in the year 2120. It' is adaptable to various uses, this particular version is designed for small scientific parties scouting Earth-like worlds. It would usually be used not by the surveyors who initially discover such worlds, but by personnel studying such worlds more closely after discovery. It could also be used for scientific purposes on other worlds, of course, and this class of ship is readily adaptable to other purposes as well.

Like the large majority of spacecraft in 2120, it does not have faster-than-light capacity on its own. Instead, it would be carried from star to star by a 'star carrier', a faster-than-light vessel designed to transport smaller ships (and passengers) from orbit to orbit faster than light, leaving the carried ships to make the final leg of the voyage from orbit to surface and back.

It is designed to be able to fly from point-to-point within an atmosphere, and so it is laid out 'laterally', like an airplane, rather than 'stacked' vertically. It has delta-wings running most of the thirty-three meter length of the ship, and has three retractable landing wheels, as well as a reinforced ventral surface enabling it to 'skid' to a stop on soft surfaces. It is also able to put down on water, much like a seaplane, and this is often the preferred method.

It uses a very specific metastable-helium/water/other mix as both propellant and fuel, and when its tank is full, it has a delta-V of 35 kilometers/second. It has easily sufficient thrust to lift off from the surface of Earth (or a comparable body), achieve orbit, and return repeatedly. It is not intended for long interplanetary voyages, though it could certainly manage a trip from Earth to Luna and back again. It has sufficient delta-V to make interplanetary voyages, but in most cases would have difficulty carrying sufficient consumables for a crew on such a journey, as well as other issues, such as long-term radiation protection and systems endurance.

(This class of ship has made successful trips to and from Earth, Mars, and Venus, however, in extremis. So it is possible. In principle, expendable 'booster' tanks of propellant could also be used to extend its range, though this would do nothing about the other limiting factors.)

It has two airlocks, one on each side of the main body, each one large enough for one man to use at a time, and each equipped with a shower option. In addition, the cargo bay can act as a large airlock if necessary. It has three cabins, two designed to be shared by two occupants, and an additional private cabin for the captain/leader. The life-support system has sufficient margin to support up to eight people indefinitely in terms of recycled breathing mix, which consists of standard Earth-normal nitroxygen mix at STP.

Along with the cabins, there is a common room that serves as a mess hall, gathering place, briefing room, and a place to perform emergency surgery if absolutely necessary. A single automed unit is available that can treat many problems on its own, or act as a stasis-support unit for an injured person. A single very small workshop, with space enough for one person, is available, as is a very limited general-purpose science lab, also roomy enough for one. [1]

This instance of this class of ship is unarmed, but it does have two hardpoints, one on either side, which could be used to mount missiles, or other weaponry, and some versions of this class do carry limited armaments. Still, it is by no means a warcraft, and it is neither particularly maneuverable in most atmospheres nor heavily armored.

It can operate in several types of atmosphere, but is optimized for Earth-like bodies. Specialized coatings are available to enable the hull to endure some 'problematic' atmosphere mixes as well. It could land on Mars and protect its crew quite adequately, but it could never survive an attempt to land on Venus, for example. On airless bodies, it can still land and lift off using rocket thrust, but the maneuver is very tricky.

Note that the statistics below are misleading, in practice this ship would never try to fly through deep atmosphere at high supersonic velocity, it is not designed for that and would risk serious damage. Normal operating flight velocities are subsonic, except when arriving from or heading out toward space. This ship can set down on water, but the performance figures for water operation assume use of the maneuvering thrusters as motive power. They can perform this operation for short periods, but it is not part of their intended design function and risks overheating them if it is kept up for long.

Speaking of overheating, the main rocket partially uses regenerative cooling during operation, and the delta-wings include integral heat dissipaters as well. If the ship is going to be spending long periods in orbit or other space activities, a retractable heat radiator is also available to maintain proper temperatures.

Also on the subject of heat: because of the enormous temperature of the exhaust, standard launch procedure in an Earth-like environment is to lift off at low power, in 'airplane mode', and open up the rocket to full thrust at altitude, to reduce environmental impact and increase safety margins.

The main rocket, when the propellant tanks are getting low, can potentially produce 15+ gees, but this is a manned ship and under normal circumstances never uses accelerations that high. Taking the main drive above 10 gees requires a specific safety override from the pilot (usually also the mission commander), and in practice even 10 gees is rarely used. As a practical matter, the Shefman is rarely flown above eight gees, and that usually only briefly during some launch and reentry operations. The higher accelerations are possible, however, at the cost of a limited amount of propellent availability.

[1] In GURPS terms, assume a -1 on any task that requires such facilities, to allow for their limited size and scale. They're much better than nothing, but still very limited.

TL10 (modified 3e) NBX Class Transatmospheric Transport Shefman:

Crew: 1 (operational minimum) 5 total. 3 crew stations covering vehicle control (helm, piloting), 3 communicators, 2 navigation aids, 3 sensors.

Subassemblies: Vehicle +7, Body +7, Wheels +5, 2xWings -4, retractable heat radiator

P&P: 1,000-kW fission reactor (2 year duration; short term access), 75,000 gal metastable helium remass mix, 2,000,000 lbs. thrust TL9 metastable helium high thrust rocket (Isp 2,533, delta-V 79,200 mph; short term access), 12 1,000 lbs. thrust secondary thrusters (vectored thrust, Isp 672, delta-V 0 mph; short term access).

Fuel: 75,000 gal self-sealing metahelium mix fuel tank, 75,000 gal metastable helium remass mix.

Occupancy: normal command/pilot crew station (bridge access, g-seat), normal copilot crew station (bridge access, g-seat), normal reconfigurable crew station (bridge access, g-seat), two dual occupancy cabins, command cabin, space adapted galley, shower, cramped toilet, 8-man full life support system, 1,600-cf cargo hold.

Armor F RL B T U
Body 4/150 4/150 4/150 4/150 4/150

Equipment
Body: 150-sf common room; automed unit; five emergency support units; complete small workshop; miniature combined science lab - 1; two 1-man airlocks (shower); cargo ramp; two multispectral searchlights (10-mile range); long range radio communicator (100,000-mile range; sensitive, tight beam); very long range laser communicator (200,000-mile range); short range sonar communicator (10-mile range); PESA (scan 29, 1,000-mile range); AESA (scan 29, 1,000-mile range; non-targeting); active sonar system (20-mile range; active/passive); medium resolution planetary survey array; seismology package; life detection package; advanced radiation detector; meteorology instrument; set of precision navigation instruments; inertial navigatton system; three mini-computers (complexity 5; genius, hardened, robot brain); two 22,000 lbs. unloaded hard points.

Statistics
Size: 95 feet length Lwt: 639,605 lbs. Volume: 26,274 cf Maint: 10.4 Hrs (9.21 man-hrs./day)

HT: 9 HP: 4,875 [Body], 400 each [3x Wheels], 1,200 each [2x Wings].

Water Performance: Top Speed 7 mph, wAcc 0 mph/s, wDec 10 mph/s (10 mph/s), wMR 0.25, wSR 7, Draft 5.7 ft, Drag 7,330, Flotation 1,563,936 lbs. (water performance assuming use of secondary thrusters for propulsion)

Air Performance: Motive Thrust 2,000,000 lbs., Stall Speed 120 mph, Top Speed 2,780 mph, Terminal Velocity 1,570 mph, Glide Speed 628 mph, Glide Ratio 5.29:1, aAccel 65 mph/s, aMR 1.24, aSR 6, aDecel 4.95 mph/s, Take off 0 yds, Water Take off 0 yds, Landing 240 yds, Water Landing 360 yds.

Space Performance: sAccel: 3.13 G / 16.9 G (empty), sDecel: 3.13 G, sMR: 3.13.

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic light frame very expensive materials [Vehicle].
TL10 DR 150 expensive laminate [Body].
Vehicle Features: computerized controls, self-sealed, waterproofed, underbelly skid, very good streamlining, very finely made.
Air Features: lifting body.
Water Features: no lines, flotation.
Body: total compartmentalization.
Volume: 25,023 cf [Body], 1,251 cf [Wheels], 0 cf [2x Wings].
Area: 6,500 sf [Body], 800 sf [Wheels].

[Johnny1A.2]

Star Carrier TASMANIA 1

TASMANIA is a medium-expense interstellar 'barge carrier' used for transporting smaller ships between star systems, and carrying passengers. There are both fancier and cheaper versions of star carriers, Tasmania is a relatively typical example of a mid-range version.

In appearance, Tasmania is an approximate cylinder about three hundred and five meters long and one fourth that in diameter. It is lightly constructed and not designed to enter any sort of atmosphere, nor to land on a planetary surface (other than special docks on the Moon or equivalent bodies). In practice it rarely approaches closer to any planetary body than low orbit.

A substantial portion of its the interior of the cylinder is an open space for docking smaller spacecraft. The Tasmania can carry up to 20,000 metric tons of smaller vessels, assuming that they are small enough to pass through the hanger doors into the interior. In practice, of course, much depends on the exact shape and form, and arranging the carried vessels within the hanger must be done with an eye both to efficiency and symmetrical mass distribution, and such calculations can become complex. One of the officers is the loadmaster, who is responsible for this task, and who answers directly to the captain.

Assuming the ships are small enough, Tasmania could carry as many as 100 smaller vessels, or at least, it carries enough power and life-support couplings for that many vessels. In practice, a typical run might range from 20 to 40 ships of varying sizes and shapes.

In operation, Tasmania approaches a planet and enters a low-to-medium orbit around it, depending on the local situation. Smaller spacecraft travel up to or down from Tasmania under their own power. This means that any spacecraft able to achieve a reasonable orbit and get down again on its own power can potentially reach the stars (assuming its owner can pay the transport bill from the star carrier company, of course).

Usually, the crew and passengers of the smaller ships live aboard their vessels during the interstellar voyage, though they are not confined to their ships and can certainly take advantage of the amenities in passenger country (at a cost, of course). Since maintaining so many separate power plants in operation within the hangar would be impractical (and indeed dangerous), Tasmania uses cable/umbilical linkages to provide 'shore power' and life-support services to the ships within the hanger during the voyage.

(Of course this too is not free, it is part of the cost of the ticket.)

In normal space, Tasmania is propelled by a highly refined closed-cycle gas-core fission rocket array. Seven such motors use hydrogen reaction mass and give Tasmania a thrust of about 0.4G when fully loaded, and a full-load delta-V of about 22 kilometers per second. If the hanger bay is empty, the thrust can go as high as 5G and the normal-space delta-V as high as 44 kilometers/second. Note that the rockets could actually propel an unloaded Tasmania at much more than 5G, but structural considerations limit accelerations to 5G, and recommended practical limits to 3G. Normally, when using rocket propulsion Tasmania rarely goes above .75G. Heat considerations and other factors mean that there are difficulties in 'burning' the rockets at high power for more than an hour or two at a time.

(When the rockets are not in use, Tasmania can be spun for the equivalent of gravity, usually at 0.5G at the outer hull.)

In practice, the rockets are usually used primarily for orbital maneuvers, with Tasmania relying on the dimensionator drive for everything else. Within the Solar System (or similarly near other stars), it can not exceed light speed, but it is still far faster than normal-space travel, averaging about .009c inside (on average) the inner asteroid belt, and 025c from the asteroid belt to the inner edge of the Kuiper Belt. Beyond the Kuiper Belt Tasmania averages about half a light-year per day, though this varies considerably with current conditions. On a typical voyage it might easily vary 25% in either direction, sometimes more. Conditions change with time, so that a trip from Sol to (for example) Procyon might typically take three weeks, but a particular voyage might take as little as two weeks or as many as four weeks.

Tasmania has a very efficient recycling system, and carries sufficient supplies to remain in space for up to two years. In practice, few voyages are this long, but this means that Tasmania could in principle make a round trip of as much as 300 light-years on a full load of supplies with a full complement of passengers and ships (modulo the variations in FTL speeds).

Onboard power is drawn from the fission rockets, which can be banked down to a low level to supply energy for onboard needs, or run at higher power to drive the dimensionator drive. Small NPU units provide emergency power for key systems, should this prove necessary.

Four retractable heat radiators maintain onboard temperatures in tolerable ranges. One set cools the rockets under thrust or stardrive power, the other set, larger but cooler, deals with the heat issues of the rest of the ship.

As for weaponry, the ship mounts six UV-frequency laser cannon of modest power. This is considered controversial by the shipping company. Tasmania and its sister ships are most certainly not warships, but they are very expensive and the orichalcum in their key systems would certainly be well worth stealing. One faction maintains that arming them is a necessary precaution. The other faction in the business regards the modest weaponry they carry as likely to be potent enough to get them into trouble without being powerful enough to get them out, and is thus merely a potentially worse-than-useless expense.

Neither faction can prove their point, or rather, both factions can cite practical examples to back up their positions. Thus the compromise light armaments.



Crew: 35 total. Captain and 10 officers, 10 engineering specialists, 20 general spacers.

Subassemblies: Vehicle +14, Body -2, 4x Heat Radiator -4.
P&P: five 3,600,000,000-kWs rechargeable power cells [None], 150,000,000 gal hydrogen (fire 13) [None], 3 dimensionators (fifth order; long term access) [None], seven 50,000,000 lbs. thrust advanced nuclear light-bulb fission rocket 1 - 1s (Isp 12,414, delta-V 15.2 miles/sec fully loaded, 27.9 miles/sec no carried ships; long term access) [None].

Fuel: 150,000,000 gal self-sealing ultralight fuel tank (fire modifier -1) [None], 150,000,000 gal hydrogen reaction mass(fire 13) [None], highly enriched uranium fuel.

Occupancy: five normal engineering crew stations (bridge access, g-seat) [None], five roomy crew stations (bridge access, g-seat) [None], four galleys [None], 50 standard cabins [None], ten luxury VIP cabins [None], ten dual occupancy crew cabins [None], chief engineer cabin [None], galley [None], four engineering crew cabins [None], luxury captain cabin [None], captain private office [None], galley [None], ten officer cabin (single occupancy)s [None], two 100-man full life support systems [None], two 10-man full life support systems [None], two 20-man full life support systems [None], two 750-man full ship support life systems [None], 100,000-cf cargo hold [None].

Armor F RL B T U
Body 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200
Heat Radiator 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200

Weaponry Malf Type Damage SS Acc 1/2D yds Max yds RoF TL
UV laser cannon Ver. Crit. Imp. 4dx235 30 30 170,000(x50) 510,000(x50) 4* 10

Equipment
Vehicle: operating room (table w/full stabilization); ten automeds; 20 emergency support units; two 4-man airlocks; two automeds; 225-sf engineering wardroom; three microframe computers (engineering supervisory) (hardened); three searchlights (100-mile range, signal lamp shutter); two complete workshops; two 2-man airlocks; two 1-cf radiation shielding systems (PD1, PF 5); three 360,000-kJ UV laser cannons (very long range, reliable/fine); 18,550,774-cf capacity hangar bay; 450-sf main wardroom; two extreme range laser communicators (10,000,000-mile range); two extreme range radio communicators (50,000,000-mile range; tight beam); extreme range ultrawave communicator - 1 (5,000,000-mile range; receive only); two PESAs (scan 41, 100,000-mile range); two AESAs (scan 41, 100,000-mile range); three mainframe computers (hardened, robot brain); three searchlights (100-mile range, signal lamp shutter); 2-man airlock; three 360,000-kJ UV laser cannons (very long range, reliable/fine).

Statistics
Size: Cylindrical, L: 1000 ft, W: 255 feet Lwt: 111,458,442 lbs. +44,000,000 lbs carried vessel mass,Volume: 50,811,409 cf

Space Performance: sAccel: 0.444 G / 5 G* (empty)
* Due to structural limitations

FTL Performance: Average 0.5 light-years/day (highly variable)

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic light frame very expensive materials [Vehicle].
TL10 DR 200 expensive laminate [Vehicle].

Errata: I had to adjust the delta-V, I was using the wrong exhaust velocity when I did my figures.

[Johnny1A.2]

RALSTON CLASS PERSONAL ORBITAL TRANSPORT THEY CALL THE WIND MARIAH

This is another example of the sort of spacecraft in common use in the early part of the Twenty-Second Century AD in my setting. It's an orbit-capable vessel fitted out as a personal transport, probably for a modestly wealthy owner, or possibly as a corporate or organizational property. It might be very loosely compared to a small oceanic cabin cruiser.

It is designed as a lifting body, intended for use in Earth-like atmospheres, or very similar ones. It uses three SESPR-1 rocket motors for propulsion, and the thrust can be vectored to enable it to hover on rocket power, though this is usually done only for landing purposes because it consumes propellant so rapidly. It can also be used for surface-to-surface air travel using the rockets on low thrust. In theory it could travel at high supersonic velocities, but in practice it is not designed to do this for sustained periods and usually does so only during launch and landing into and back from space. Normal in-atmosphere operation is subsonic.

To save weight, this design omits landing gear of any sort, and uses an underbelly skid. It can also float and 'landing' on water is a viable option.

Electrical power is provided by two 100 kilowatt NPUs.

With the propellant tanks full, They Call The Wind Mariah has a thrust envelope ranging from 2.08 to 5.35 gravities, and a delta-V of 27.69 km/sec.

Onboard accommodations include one cabin fitted out for two occupants, a small wardroom/dining room/common area, which has a folding sofa that can unfold into an extra bunk. There is a standard galley fitted out for zero-g food preparation, a cargo hold not much larger than a storage closet, a cramped cockpit with two control stations, and a one-man airlock.

While this vessel could assuredly manage a trip from Earth to the Moon and back, it lacks sufficient consumables, radiation protection, and other necessities to be a practical interplanetary transport.

Like most such vessels, They Call The Wind Mariah lacks FTL capacity, and must make use of a star carrier vessel to make interstellar journeys. The standard couplings are present to permit They Call The Wind Mariah to dock with most star carriers for trips to other planets and other star systems.

This ship carries no weaponry, and is only very lightly armored. It also has only limited repair capacity on its own. While it can safely land in many places, the design intent was primarily to landings at fully equipped aerospace ports.

The 'brain' of the ship is the standard 3 duplicate computers, running in parallel. They are advanced enough to permit They Call The Wind Mariah to carry out a preprogrammed flight plan from ground to orbit or back on their own, though manual control is certainly an option.


Small personal transport, designed for ground-to-orbit-to ground and space-to-space operations.

Crew: 1 total. 2 crew stations

Subassemblies: Vehicle +6, Body +6.

P&P: 24 360,000-kWs rechargeable power cells, two 100-kW NPUs (1 year duration; short term access), 20,000 gal SESPR-1, three 150,000 lbs. thrust TL9 metastable helium high thrust rockets (vectored thrust, Isp 3,061, delta-V 17.16 miles/sec; short term access).

Fuel: two 10,000 gal self-sealing light fuel tanks (fire modifier -2), 20,000 gal SESPR-1.

Occupancy: normal pilot station (g-seat), cramped reconfigurable crew station (g-seat), dual occupancy cabin, galley, cramped toilet, shower, folding sofa/bunk, two 3-man full life support systems, 72-cf cargo hold.

Armor F RL B T U
Body 4/50 4/50 4/50 4/50 4/100

Equipment
Body: 90-sf common room; three small computers (complexity 4; hardened, robot brain); two very long range radio communicators (1,000,000-mile range; tight beam); two very long range laser communicators (200,000-mile range); short range FTL radio (0.1 parsec range; receive only); searchlight (5-mile range, signal lamp shutter); two AESAs (scan 21, 50-mile range; non-targeting); two PESAs (scan 21, 50-mile range); advanced radiation detector; chemical sensor array; inertial navigation system; two emergency support units; 1-man airlock.

Statistics
Size: 45’L 15’W 11.3’H
Volume: 7,640 cf

Water Performance: Top Speed 0 mph, wAcc 0 mph/s, wDec 10 mph/s (10 mph/s), wMR 0.5, wSR 7, Draft 3.9 ft, Drag 788, Flotation 477,520 lbs.

Air Performance: Motive Thrust 450,000 lbs., Stall Speed 0 mph, Top Speed 2,010 mph, Terminal Velocity 1,411 mph, Glide Speed 565 mph, Glide Ratio 0.83:1, aAccel 40 mph/s, aMR 2.5, aSR 4, aDecel 10 mph/s.

Space Performance: sAccel: 2.08 G / 5.35 G (empty)

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic light frame expensive materials [Vehicle].
T TL10 DR 50 expensive laminate, U TL10 DR 100 expensive laminate, L TL10 DR 50 expensive laminate, R TL10 DR 50 expensive laminate, F TL10 DR 50 expensive laminate, B TL10 DR 50 expensive laminate [Body].
Operating Duration: 26 M 40 S.
Vehicle Features: computerized controls, self-sealed, underbelly skid, good streamlining, finely made.
Air Features: lifting body.
Water Features: no lines, flotation.
Body: total compartmentalization.
Volume: 7,640 cf [Body].

[Johnny1A.2]

In the early 22nd Century, near-Earth space the province of the Aerospace Force, a descendent, as the name suggests, of Space Command and the Air Force. Projecting power further away, on the other hand, in the province of the United States Navy Space Branch. The USSS (United States Space Ship) Arkansas is one of the ships of the Navy Space Branch.

In appearance, the Arkansas is a cylinder, about 280 meters long by about 38 meters in diameter. Space along its length are three large 'rings', toruses linked to the main cylinder by perpendicular and angled connecting struts. The 'bow/top' of the main cylinder contains a spacedock, the stern/bottom of the cylinder is the cluster of five nuclear rockets that provides normal space propulsion.

Most of the habitable area of the vessel is in the 'rings', which also house key components of the FTL drive. The ship can rotate to provide pseudogravity in the rings, when the ship is not under acceleration. Rotating three and a quarter times per minute provides about 1G of pseudogravity in the outermost decks of the main rings.

Normal space propulsion is provided by five closed-cycle gas-core fission rockets, the product of a century of refinement and improvement. They use hydrogen as propellant and highly-enriched uranium as fuel, and have an exhaust velocity of approximately 35 kilometers per second. The propellant is stored in the form of a cryogenic slush, and as is typical of spacecraft, much of the interior volume is given over to propellant storage. At maximum rated mass load, and full propellant tanks, the Arkansas has a delta-vee of approximately 37 kilometers/sec in normal space.

The 'dry mass' of the Arkansas is about 26,837 metric tons. The starship carries about 51,648 metric tons of propellant when the tanks are 'topped off'. In normal-space 'cruise the Arkansas has an acceleration of about .088G, and can sustain this for hours. At a substantial cost in delta-V, the drive can boost thrust, to as high as 2G, which is useful in combat and certain astronomical maneuvers, such as carrying out Oberth maneuvers. The delta-V cost and the danger of overheating the drive limits such high-thrust operations to very short time periods.

The dimensionator/K-drive is used both for rapid sublight transits within star systems, and for FTL interstellar travel. The exact speed is highly variable with conditions, of course, and much faster in the flat, empty spacetime between stars than it is close to stars and planets. As a general rule, and very much as an average, the Arkansas averages about the equivalent of 133c under full dimensionator drive while in deep interstellar space. This can and routinely does vary by as much as fifty percent either way with local conditions, and even with the passage of time in a given volume of space. Occasionally it can vary by even larger margins under the influence of major cosmic events.

The spacedock in the nose of the main body can house several small ground-to-orbit-to-ground spacecraft, and usually carries three ten-passenger shuttles. The forward spacedock also houses automated probes, water-seeking drones, and other subsidiary vehicles.

Along with these shuttles, two docking modules on opposite sides of the main body serve as docking sites for two Springer class freighters, each with the ability to carry sixty metric tons of cargo and or up to 150passengers. One of the Springers carried by the Arkansas (and its sister ships) usually carries the necessary apparatus to refine uranium ores for fuel.

The fission cores in the rockets also provide onboard power for the starship and the beam weaponry.

The radiation shielding of the Arkansas is very good. Even so, for reasons of safety and minimizing exposure, most of the crew quarters and amenities are in Ring Number One, the further from the stern and the five-fold nuclear inferno that drives and powers the vessel. Which some of the medical facilities are in Ring Two, the middle of the three, most of the sleeping quarters and common areas are in Ring One, taking advantage of nearly two hundred extra meters of distance for sake of safety.

The Arkansas carried a highly sophisticated 'algae farm', with multiple redundancy. This assists the life support system in maintaining a proper breathing gas balance aboard ship. The algal farm also produces a highly nutritious but largely unappetizing paste that can be east directly. Standard procedure is to use the algal paste as a 'filler' with more popular foods. It can be cooked into many foods without harming their flavor or nutrition. However, in emergencies this algal paste can be and sometimes is consumed as a primary dish. It might taste like a mix of stale bread and seaweed, but it is extremely nutritious. Because it can recycle wastes back into the algae farm, it can greatly extend the cruise envelope of the Arkansas by stretching out the vital nutrients and supplies.



TL10 American space combat vehicle (USSS ARKANSAS)

The USSS Arkansas is a Space Combat Vehicle (SCV) used by the United States Navy (Space Branch) in the early 22nd Century.

Crew: 20 minimum. 80 standard, plus Marines and other personnel as appropriate for the mission.

P&P: 5,552,399 gal hydrogen slush (fire 13) [Ring Three], 3,680,000 gal hydrogen slush (fire 13) [Ring Two], 500,000 gal SESPR-1, 7,000,000 gal hydrogen slush (fire 13), five 3,000,000 lbs. thrust advanced enhanced nuclear light-bulb fission rocket 1 - 1s (Isp 3571, delta-V maximum load 23 miles/sec, short term access), dimensionator drive(sixth order; typical FTL ‘velocity’ 133c in interstellar space, short term access).

Fuel: 5,552,399 gal self-sealing ultralight fuel tank [Ring Three], 5,552,399 gal hydrogen slush [Ring Three], 3,680,000 gal self-sealing ultralight fuel tank [Ring Two], 3,680,000 gal hydrogen slush [Ring Two],500,000 gal SESPR-1, 500,000 gal self-sealing ultralight SESPR-1 reservoir tank, five 7,000,000 gal self-sealing ultralight fuel tanks, 7,000,000 gal hydrogen slush.

Occupancy: three galleys [Ring One], luxury captain cabin [Ring One], captain private office [Ring One], first officer cabin [Ring One], first officer private office [Ring One], master chief petty officer cabin [Ring One], command master chief private office [Ring One], 25 officer cabins [Ring One], 80 dual occupancy cabins [Ring One], 250,000-cf cargo hold [Ring Two], 250,000-cf cargo hold [Ring Two], 100,000-cf cargo hold [Ring One], 100,000-cf cargo hold.

Armor F RL B T U
Ring Three 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200
Ring Two 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200
Ring One 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200
Body 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200 4/200


Equipment
Vehicle: full fire suppression system; ten 4-man airlocks; distributed acceleration compensators (3 gees).

Ring Three: four 100,000-kJ neutral particle weapons (extreme range, reliable/fine; compact); four 360,000-kJ UV laser cannons (very long range, reliable/fine; compact).

Ring Two: operating room (three tables w/full stabilization); ten automeds; ten cryonic capsules; four 100,000-kJ neutral particle weapons (extreme range, reliable/fine; compact); four 360,000-kJ UV laser cannons (very long range, reliable/fine; compact); 300-sf physical training room/gym; 300-sf ground ops combat simulator room; three complete workshops; ten cryonic capsules; 20 automeds; operating room (three tables w/full stabilization).

Ring One: ten cryonic capsules; 20 automeds; operating room (three tables w/full stabilization); four 100,000-kJ neutral particle weapons (extreme range, reliable/fine; compact); four 360,000-kJ UV laser cannons (very long range, reliable/fine; compact); two science labs; 14,400-sf officer commons; 14,400-sf enlisted common room; triplicated algae farms.

Body: two fissionables processors (50 lbs. per hr processed); 15,000,000-gph SESPR-1 fuel manufacturing processor; 703,000-cf capacity spacedock; two 360,000-kJ blue-green laser cannons (normal range; compact); 3,600,000-kJ heavy UV laser cannon (extreme range; compact); ten 310mm breechloader missile tubes; four 1,550mm breechloader heavy missile tubes; two extreme range radio communicators (50,000,000-mile range; tight beam); two extreme range laser communicators (10,000,000-mile range); short range ultrawave communicator - 1 (500-mile range; receive only); four searchlights (100-mile range, signal lamp shutter); two AESAs (scan 37, 25,000-mile range); two PESAs (scan 37, 25,000-mile range); two advanced radiation detectors; two sets of astronomical telescopes; two high resolution planetary survey arrays; two inertial navigation platform; three mainframe computers (complexity 8; genius, hardened, high capacity, robot brain); four main defense shield generators; complete microgravity workshop.

Statistics
Size: Main body is cylinder 920 ft long by 125 feet in diameter. Three habitat/drive rings encircle main body, each 58.5 feet minor axis, 490 ft major axis (through main body).

Lwt: 77723 metric tons

Volume: 14,990,074 cf

Space Performance: sAccel: 0.088 G / 0.379 G (empty), sDecel: 0.088 G, normal space drive can shift gears to higher thrust briefly at great cost in delta-V.

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic medium frame expensive materials [Vehicle].
TL10 DR 200 expensive laminate [Ring Three].
TL10 DR 200 expensive laminate [Ring Two].
TL10 DR 200 expensive laminate [Ring One].
TL10 DR 200 expensive laminate [Body].
Vehicle Features: computerized controls, 3x duplicate controls, self-sealed, ruggedized, no streamlining, finely made.
Body: total compartmentalization.
Ring Three: total compartmentalization.
Ring Two: total compartmentalization.
Ring One: total compartmentalization.

[Johnny1A.2]

SPRINGER Class Ground To Space Freighter

The Springer Class GTS Freighter is a vessel used by the United States Navy Space Branch in the early 21C. It is actually a fairly basic ship, designed primarily for lifting large loads from planetary surfaces to orbit, or delivering large loads from space to ground. With that in mind, the ship is mostly cargo hold, fuel tank, and rocket motors. Unlike winged shuttles, the Springer class relies almost entirely on rocket thrust for lift, it is barely more aerodynamic than a brick. Brute force is the essence of its design. This makes it clumsy in an atmosphere, but enables a Springer to be a reliable vehicle on airless worlds.

In appearance, a Springer bears an uncanny resemblance to the Apollo Command Module reentry vehicles of over a century before. It is a truncated cone with very nearly the same shape as the Command Modules, though the bottom is not so rounded, and the scale is much greater.

A Springer is about 16.2 meters in height and 19.6 meters in base diameter. Five SESPR-1 rocket engines provide over 13 million newtons of thrust, vectored for flight control. The enormous fuel tank gives a fully loaded Springer a delta-V of about 32 kilometers/sec. If the cargo bays are empty, a full propellant load will give a Springer a delta-V of an awesome 50 kilometers/sec.

Likewise, the enormous high-thrust rocket motors, designed to enable a Springer to lift enormous loads even from 1g+ planets, mean that an unloaded Springer is capable of immense accelerations. A fully loaded Springer can boost at 3.43g, with empty cargo holds this rises to 4g, as the propellant tanks get closer to empty, in theory a fully loaded Springer could boost by over 30g.

In practice, neither the structure of the ship, nor the contents, nor the crew, are compatible with such immense accelerations. The acceleration compensator fields built into the crew stations can neutralize up to 5g, but this would of little moment against a 30g acceleration.

For reasons of safety, a Springer normally never exceeds 10G, and even this is quite unusual.

In principle, the enormous delta-V inherent in the Springer design would make it an effective interplanetary vehicle, and they can be modified to serve as adequate normal-space interplanetary craft. A standard Springer, however, lacks the life-support capacity, systems reliability, and other necessities for interplanetary flight. The rocket motors can boost with enormous thrust, but they are designed to operate for fairly short periods, and can overheat or otherwise fail when 'burned' too long.

A Springer would be entirely adequate for a trip, for ex, from Earth to the Moon or vice versa, but would need modification to be a reliable transport even as far as Mars. The basic Springer design is a ground-orbit-ground transport.

A Springer is rated for a crew of three, and the standard design has two cabins, a single occupancy cabin for the commander and a dual-occupancy for two enlisted ratings. It does have a compact galley and a tiny recreation room for the crew, but accommodations are fairly spartan.

A docking module is located the top of the truncated cone, with a hatch to enable transfers of crew and cargo. Each of the three cargo holds has its own access hatch and extendable loading ramp, and each cargo hold can be, in an extreme situation, used as an enormous airlock. Two smaller personnel airlocks are located near the base of the cone, on opposite sides of the ship.

Though a Springer is basically a cargo transport, the holds are so designed that they can be fitted with rows of g-seats, to enable a Springer to act as a personnel transport. A ship so modified can carry 150 personnel, though only for a very short time.

The basic Springer design can be, and often is, extensively modified for special purposes. With appropriate modifications, this class of ship can serve as a mobile base for surface operations, a research base, or the nucleus of a small mining operation, for example.

The Springer class is limited to normal space operations, and must rely upon a star carrier or other ship with a dedicated dimensionator drive for FTL travel.


Crew: 3 total

Subassemblies: 3xLanding Strut.

P&P: four 36,000,000-kWs rechargeable power cells, 100,000 gal SESPR-1, five 600,000 lbs. thrust TL9 metastable helium high thrust rockets (vectored thrust, Isp 2,448, delta-V 20.36 miles/sec, short term access).

Fuel: 100,000 gal self-sealing ultralight fuel tank (SESPR-1), 100,000 gal SESPR-1.

Occupancy: two cramped crew stations (bridge access, g-seat), dual occupancy cabin, command cabin, three 2,200-cf cargo holds.

Armor F RL B T U
Body 4/75 4/75 4/75 4/75 4/75

Equipment
Body: four cargo ramps; 120-sf wardroom; two very long range laser communicators (1,000,000-mile range); advanced radiation detector; two PESAs (scan 25, 200-mile range); two AESAs (scan 23, 100-mile range); two extreme range radio communicators (50,000,000-mile range; tight beam); chemical sensor array; meteorology instrument; high resolution planetary survey array; inertial navigation system; set of precision navigation instruments; three microframe computers (complexity 6; hardened, high capacity, robot brain); two 2-man airlocks (shower); automed; fissionables processor (10 lbs. per hr processed); searchlight (10-mile range, signal lamp shutter); full fire suppression system; acceleration compensation system (5 gees).

Statistics
Size: Diameter at base 64.30 ft, height 44.39 ft Lwt: 873,985 lbs.
Volume: 26,783 cubic ft

Air Performance: Motive Thrust 3,000,000 lbs., Stall Speed 0 mph, Top Speed 2,630 mph, Terminal Velocity 1,411 mph

Space Performance: sAccel: 3.48 G / 38.2 G (empty), sDecel: 3.48 G.

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic medium frame very expensive materials [Vehicle].
TL10 DR 75 expensive laminate [Body].
Vehicle Features: computerized controls, duplicate controls, self-sealed, waterproofed, Fair streamlining, finely made.
Body: total compartmentalization.

[Johnny1A.2]

U.S Naval Aldrin Class Spatial Propellant Tanker James Lovell

This is just what the name suggests, a transport ship designed to carry rocket propellant, primarily cryogenically cold slush hydrogen, and also other materials. In essence, even more so than most spacecraft, it is a gigantic propellant tank. Along with the primary tank, which is used both to transport propellant and as propellant tank for the ship itself, there are smaller tanks suitable for transporting various liquids, that can be adapted to carry additional propellant if necessary.

Along with propellant, the James Lovell carries consumables of all sorts, such as food, water, etc. It has a full rated crew of 60, but this is more than is absolutely required, in part because some members of the crew are sometimes reassigned to other ships 'on the fly' as needed. The minimum proper crew for the James Lovell is 30, though more is convenient.

The JL is only lightly armed, its primary defense is the outer defense shield. In practice, a tanker like the JL will usually have at least one armed escort ship.

Power and propulsion is derived from three advanced closed-cycle gas-core nuclear motors, which use hydrogen propellant for normal space accelerations, and provide power for other functions as well. The exhaust velocity of the three nuclear motors is ~30,000 meters/sec. Delta-V is approximately 80 kilometers/sec when the main cryo tank is full.

This is an area where space travel is counter-intuitive. Tankers like the James Lovell have very limited thrust compared to warships like the USNSS Arkansas. On the other hand, their very nature means they have enormous mass ratios and very high normal-space delta-V. Thus a tanker like the JL is actually 'faster' over long normal-space voyages than a high-thrust ship like the Arkansas. The limiting factor on the normal-space travel times for the James Lovell is not delta-V per se, but rather the necessity of avoiding overheating the drive in long 'burns'.

The k-drive is relatively standard, a fifth-order system that can give the JL an FTL rate of approximately 133c, varying substantially with conditions. The k-drive lacks some of the fine controls found on front-line warships, though, meaning it has to drop to sub-c velocities further out from stellar and planetary masses.

The James Lovell lacks a spacedock as such. Instead, three docking sockets are spaced around the perimeter of the hull, each housing a standard 12-person ground/orbit Naval shuttle.


Crew: 30

P&P: 30,000,000 gal hydrogen slush, three 1,000,000 lbs. thrust advanced nuclear light-bulb fission rockets (Isp 3061, delta-V 50 miles/sec, short term access), dimensionator/k-drive (fifth order).

Fuel: highly enriched uranium

Propellant: 30,000,000 gal hydrogen slush, 30,000,000 gal self-sealing ultralight fuel tank

Occupancy: three normal reconfigurable crew stations (bridge access, g-seat), 20 dual occupancy cabins, luxury captain cabin, XO cabin, command master chief petty officer cabin, galley, two 70-man full life support systems, three 5,000-cf cargo holds.

Armor F RL B T U
Body 4/70 4/70 4/70 4/70 4/70

Equipment
Body: complete workshop; 3-man airlock; 1-gpm refueling probe; 1-gpm refueling probe; 150-sf wardroom; three ruggedized algae farms; ten automeds; operating room (table w/full stabilization); 1-gpm refueling drogue; three 1,000-gpm refueling drogues; three 1,000-gpm refueling probes; two searchlights (20-mile range, signal lamp shutter); searchlight (1-mile range, signal lamp shutter); two extreme range radio communicators (50,000,000-mile range; tight beam); two extreme range laser communicators (10,000,000-mile range); short range ultrawave communicator - 1 (500-mile range; receive only); advanced radiation detector; two inertial navigation platform; three microframe computers (complexity 6; hardened, robot brain); two PESAs (scan 37, 20,000-mile range); two AESAs (scan 35, 10,000-mile range); three 3-man airlocks; three 6,722-cf capacity vehicle bays; three 720,000-kJ UV lasers (extreme range); defense shield generator.


Statistics
Size: Cylindrical, 120’ in diameter by 420’ in length

Space Performance: sAccel: 0.013 G / 0.199 G (empty), sDecel: 0.013 G,

FTL Performance: 133 light-years/year average, highly conditional.

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic medium frame expensive materials [Vehicle].
TL10 DR 70 expensive laminate [Body].

[Johnny1A.2]

LINDALL Class Personal Orbital Transport

In 2122, the Lindall Class Personal Orbital Transporter is used by governments, large private organizations, and some very wealthy individuals as a one-person spacecraft designed for trips to and from orbital to ground, or for very short interplanetary trips. It is most definitely a 'short occupancy' vehicle. It has regenerative life support systems that can maintain a breathable cabin atmosphere almost indefinitely, but other consumables must be carried from launch. Radiation protection is limited, sufficient for short trips but manifestly inadequate for long-term exposure. It has rudimentary food preparation equipment and a 'relief tube', but the planned operational profile is hours, not days.

A lifting body design, the Lindall class uses SESPR propellent with four SESPR-capable rocket motors for propulsion. In principle these rockets could propel a Lindall at well over Mach Three in Earth's lower atmosphere, but in practice this would be dangerously fast if sustained for long. The Lindall class is a space transporter, and not designed with point-to-point transits on a planetary surface in mind, though it is capable of such, at great cost in propellant. [1]

A Lindall is a lifting body and has an ablative coating on the lower surface. This substance has a very high heat capacity and can endure unablated during 'slow' reentries to Earth-like atmospheres. Such reentries use a minimum of propellant and aerobraking to reduce velocity, often making multiple passes through the atmosphere. This profit saves both propellant and wear-and-tear on the heat shielding, but takes time.

Alternatively, a 'fast' aerobraking reentry can be made that is more along the lines of the reentry profiles of the Apollo and Gemini missions, but such anreentry will burn off most of the ablative coating and require replacement before the ship can be used again.

For airless worlds, a Lindall can use its rockets for primary braking, and the delta-vee is sufficient for Earth-mass/gravity worlds even if they lack atmosphere for aerobraking. This is not the preferred situation, however, because it uses up propellant at a tremendous rate.

A fully-tanked Lindall has enough delta-vee to reach low orbit from Earth's surface, and safely return, with substantial reserves for maneuver and emergencies. This is the primary operational profile the designers had in mind when they created this model.

A Lindall is far too small to carry a dimensionator/k-drive, even if it was economical to include such an expensive device. On the other hand, a Lindall could make an interstellar journey aboard a star carrier, much like any other small vessel. Since a Lindall is not practical for long-term occupancy, however, such a star carrier would necessarily need to also have passenger accommodations.

A Lindall class transporter is not a warship by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it designed for use on low-technology worlds, though that does not mean it cannot be so used. It is not really suitable for such, however. It was primarily intended for flight from an aerospaceport to an orbiting habitat or ship, and vice versa. The Lindall Class does have a floatation hull, however, and can manage to put down and take off from water if need be.

In a highly advanced setting such as 2122 Earth, the Lindall Class has sufficient automation, and there are sufficient navigation aids and assistances in place, that no piloting skill whatever is needful for 'standard' flight profiles. The 'pilot' could simply program a destination and let the computer handle the rest, and this would usually be safe and reliable. Standard preprogrammed destinations would tend to include such locations as major aerospaceports, major orbiting habitats, standard 'docking orbits' for such things as star carriers, and so forth.

That said, most jurisdictions do require that an owner or operator of a Lindall Class (or similar vessels) complete a basic course of pilot training, if only in case of mechanical failure or other emergency.

Lindall Class One Person Personal Orbital Transporter

Crew: 1 total.

Subassemblies: Vehicle +5, Body +5, Wheels +2.

P&P: 3,200 gal SESPR-1, two 4,320,000-kWs rechargeable power cells, 50-kW NPU (2 year duration; short term access), four 20,000 lbs. thrust TL9 metastable helium high thrust rockets (vectored thrust, Isp 3,600, delta-V 0 mph; short term access).

Fuel: 3,200 gal SESPR-1, two 1,600 gal self-sealing SESPR tanks.

Occupancy: normal crew station (g-seat), folding seat/bunk, small galley, 1-man full life support system, 1-man full backup life support system, waste relief system, 150-cf cargo hold.

Armor F RL B T U
Body 4/250 4/250 4/250 4/250 4/500

Equipment
Body: compact fire suppression system; emergency support unit; three tiny backup computers (complexity 3; hardened, neural net, robot brain); two long range radio communicators (500,000-mile range; sensitive, tight beam, direction finder); two very long range laser communicators (1,000,000-mile range); short range ultrawave communicator - 1 (5,000-mile range; receive only, tight beam); searchlight (1-mile range, signal lamp shutter); external chemical sensor array; advanced radiation detector; two inertial navigation system; set of precision navigation instruments; small computer shipbrain (complexity 4; hardened, neural net, robot brain); two PESAs (scan 27, 500-mile range); two AESAs (scan 27, 500-mile range; non-targeting).

Statistics
21' by 9.5' by 6' (approximate)
Lwt: 32,200 lbs.
Volume: 1,292 cf

Air Performance: Motive Thrust 80,000 lbs., Stall Speed 0 mph, Top Speed 1,940 mph, Terminal Velocity 1,251 mph, Glide Speed 500 mph, Glide Ratio 2.67:1, aAccel 50 mph/s, aMR 3, aSR 4, aDecel 12 mph/s.

Space Performance: sAccel: 2.4 G / 8.57 G (empty), sDecel: 2.4 G, sMR: 2.4.

Design Notes:
TL10 robotic extra light frame advanced materials [Vehicle].
TL12 DR 250 advanced laminate; Layer 2: T TL1 DR 0 no material, U TL1 DR 250 advanced fireproof ablative, L TL1 DR 0 no material, R TL1 DR 0 no material, F TL1 DR 0 no material, B TL1 DR 0 no material [Body].
Delta-V: ~24 km/sec
Vehicle Features: computerized controls, self-sealed, waterproofed, very good streamlining, finely made.
Air Features: lifting body.
Volume: 1,231 cf [Body], 61.5 cf [Wheels].
Area: 800 sf [Body], 100 sf [Wheels].


[1] For information about SESPR see here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=167975