isaackuo

isaackuo, 23 days ago

@cstross

Your ethernet cables don't go obsolete in 5 years, though.

But maybe I'm misunderstanding. I thought the idea was that the Starlink satellites would need to be replaced after 10 years (or 5 years maybe) due to obsolescence. In other words, it's not about keeping them in use, just deciding what to do with them at EOL.

Is that right?

isaackuo, 23 days ago

@cstross

Okay, thanks for the explanation.

There has been, for some time, attempts at coming up with schemes to refuel satellites. So far, this hasn't led to anything successful; the orbital mechanics of the situation is pretty daunting.

But for a Starlink specific solution, it could make sense to design supply modules that a Starlink satellite rendezvous with to get more propellant and/or a new payload comms package.

No need to return stuff to Earth, just receiving supplies/upgrades.

1/2

isaackuo, 20 days ago

@masukomi

I think it's really just habit, established by D&D. I mean ... D&D was ridiculously popular and it established all sorts of conventions.

Furthermore, D&D inspired a ton of CRPGs and RPG-like games (such as roguelikes). In those games, there wasn't really a capability to replicate the role playing aspects of D&D, but it was straightforward to replicate the numerical mechanics, such as leveling up.

A lot of people were introduced to RPGs via these games first, rather than tabletop.

isaackuo, 4 days ago

@SFRuminations

It really boils down to whether or not there's some fan base to tap into.

Like, they've been trying to bring back The Black Hole. Even though the movie is generally not regarded highly, and it was absolutely a financial disaster, there's still a certain fan base who remembers The Black Hole with fondness.

Otherwise, it's easier and better to just take inspiration from some of the better ideas and make up a new IP.

For example, The Black Hole -> Event Horizon.

isaackuo, 1 day ago

@glitzersachen @nyrath

A second asteroid is not necessary a bad idea. If you're lucky enough to be able to find a small asteroid that you can deflect into the big asteroid, the high relative velocity will ensure it has enough "oomph" to deflect the large asteroid away from an Earth crossing path.

isaackuo, 1 day ago

@nyrath

A counterintuitive aspect of using the asteroid mass itself as propellant is that you want a LOW exhaust velocity. Not only does this maximize thrust for a given amount of power, it also conveniently gets rid of asteroid mass - so it takes even less energy to deflect what's left of the asteroid.

But for this, you'd rather not waste energy on vaporizing the rock. That's a lot of energy that basically gets you nowhere.

The secret is to bang the rocks together.

isaackuo, 1 day ago

@Benhm3 @nyrath

The basic idea behind a gravity tug is that it will NOT result in bits of the asteroid breaking off (which, in certain circumstances, could be a problem).

But it seems that lots of asteroids are rubble piles, and it could be worth doing the opposite approach. An anti-mining probe could just dig/melt in and then flail a chain tail around to randomly knock regolith away. Low velocity is good - maximizes thrust for power.

isaackuo, 1 day ago

@glitzersachen @nyrath

Well, I was just quoting The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy "The secret is to bang the rocks together"

But anyways, any of the concepts for deflecting an asteroid could be used to deflect a small asteroid into a large asteroid - given a lucky enough circumstance of the small asteroid already being sufficiently headed toward the large one. Gravity tractor probably wouldn't work on small ones, though.

isaackuo, 15 hours ago

@tkinias @nyrath @cjshearwood

Do you mean, other than the obvious that glass is heavier and more delicate, so you do NOT want to have too much of it?

Also, there's the public relations factor - passengers want to fly in an aircraft that "feels" safe. And having too much glass in the front "feels" unsafe.

Also, multi-engine aircraft cockpits were (and remain) absolutely stuffed with instrument displays and controls - both below and above the windows.

isaackuo, 17 days ago

@Hcobb @nyrath

The ideal size is not seven. Blakes 7 just couldn't ever get the hang of giving all the characters something to do.

isaackuo, 22 days ago

@nyrath

I kinda like the idea of taking inspiration from wooden ship days. Back then, it might not be so much a matter of different purpose built logistics ships, but rather a ship's purpose could evolve with age, as it gets worn out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_(ship_type)#Hulks_used_for_storage#Hulks_used_for_storage)

isaackuo, 23 days ago

@KarlSchroeder @nyrath

Martian gravity is .38g, whereas lunar gravity is .17g. So, the floor angle to simulate 1g would be 22 degrees rather than 10 degrees.

So basically, it would work about the same as on the Moon, just with about twice the floor angle (not all that much different in the big scheme of things).

isaackuo, 18 days ago

@nyrath

Page 7 "optional boom" ... Captain Ivanova does not approve.

isaackuo, 11 days ago

@Hcobb @nyrath

If you've got plenty of power - and a Dyson swarm does have plenty of power, then a laser sail at the destination can decelerate you just as well as accelerate you. (Actually better, due to both the doppler effect and the chasing effects working in your favor.)

isaackuo, 11 days ago

@Hcobb @nyrath

It's going to depend on specifics of the overall system, but 1 gee of acceleration is possible. Two possible strategies is to have extremely high reflectivity with a visible or soft UV laser, or to have a sail material tolerant of high temperature (and this allows the use of X-ray or even gamma ray lasers - but this is not required).

With high reflectivity sails, you may need to be careful about doppler effects and the angle of incidence.

isaackuo, 15 days ago

@steinarb @nyrath

There's not much in common between this new concept and Daedalus. For one thing, it uses fission rather than fusion.

And the basic idea is wild ... take a gun-type fission bomb and make it so that the cylinder portion is reusable while the bullet portion gets super duper hot.

I'm no nuclear physicist, so I don't even know if that can even plausibly work.

isaackuo, 19 days ago

@lorenschmidt

Hmm ... the roads seem to strongly tend to be aligned with 45 degree diagonals. I feel like roads that are more orthogonal feel more "traditional".

(See, for example, Phantasie.)

isaackuo, 15 days ago

Thus, Essex was not allowed to operate in LEO, severely limiting its ability to bring in revenue. Besides, its avionics and various systems degraded and became obsolete, so Essex was scrapped.

Cutty's ship would be built around its LH2 tank, repurposed into a crew compartment. Spraying the outside with large cellulose bubbles both solved the problem of space debris and provided Whipple shield-like impact protection.

2/2 #PostcardsFromCutty

isaackuo, 15 days ago

So, LH2 tank engineering is not trivial. If you want it to launch from Earth, then you have to confront icing and insulation. For various reasons, this works best with a single layer of structural tank, with insulation foam applied outside that and optional paint outside that.

But this becomes a problem if you have dreams of using these big LH2 tanks for a space habitat. Bits of foam breaking off becomes space debris - a hazard in LEO.

1/2 #PostcardsFromCutty

isaackuo, 8 days ago

@nyquildotorg

I don't have any idea, but your statement sounds plausible.