Atmosphere (requires streamlining) or Space-only Hull: accommodations 20-25 yd3/person, 1 ton/unit hull weighs 0.01 ton/yd3 costs L 70/yd3 ($2000/yd3 modern US) Armor: unarmored = defense factor (DF) 0 armor adds .2 tons/yd3 of mass and L 35/yd3 for defense factor 1 cost and mass double for DF 2, quadruple for DF 3, etc Compartmentalization: Heavy and total compartmentalization available at 50% and 100% additional base hull cost and mass. Standard walls DR 6, HT 20 Pressure walls DR 12, HT 40 Heavy compartmentalization walls DR 8 HT 30 Pressure walls in heavy compartmentalization DR 16 HT 50 Total compartmentalization walls (all) DR 16 HT 50 Stress rating: Weight a hull can bear safely, = volume in yd3. Increase stress rating by incrementing cost and mass by 1% for each 2% change in stress rating. Streamlining: Aerodynamic streamlining adds 50% to hull cost and 10% to mass. Winged streamlining adds 100% to hull cost and 25% to mass. (Possibly only needed for landing craft/shuttle.) Power measured in MW Drives produce thrust; acceleration = thrust (tons)/mass (tons) Allot crew quarters and life support; space and mass for each person. Crew includes: Command Pilot Medical Personnel Engineers Life Support Tech Service Personnel General Maintenance Tech Gunner Crew members require one pilot chair each 1/2 ton, 1 1/2 yd3 of space, cost L 35. Passenger chairs are 1/4 ton, 1 yd3, L 17.5 Crew accommodations per person are 1 ton, 25 yd3 space, L 140. Comprehensive life support Base: 2 tons, 4 yd3, 1/2 MW of power, L 175 Per person additional: 1/2 ton, 2 yd3, L 17.5 Armament Enumerate Sensory and Calculating Equipment Airlocks, cargo bays, docking areas, auxiliary vessels ------ How To Build a Spaceship, Lunar Ellipse-Style 1. Decide on the type of ship you want 2. Choose a hull size, material, armor, compartmentalization, and stress rating 3. Install power plant and drives. Don.t forget to allow for fuel/reaction mass. 4. Allot quarters for the team members and install life support systems 5. Add instrumentation and communications gear 6. Install accessories (airlocks, landing gear, etc) 7. Allocate space for cargo/supplies and auxiliary vehicles (if any) 8. Do the math.determine the final mass, cost, volume, and power usage of all components. Make sure your power plant is powerful enough! 9. Determine the acceleration (Note that 35 in 1899 = US$1000 in 2003.) Step 1: Ship Type - Determine the type of ship (atmosphere-capable vs. space-only; purpose). N. B.: Streamlining is necessary only for ships that will enter an atmosphere. Streamlining adds to the base cost of the hull and adds mass. Step 2: Hull - This is the basic framework of the ship. It includes decks, cables, the outer skin, stress bracing, and other similar necessaries. Size is expressed in yd3 (cubic yards). The thing about the hull is that it isn't what you do with it, it's the size that counts. A lifeboat or fighter craft might be anything from 5 to 200 cy, while some of the orbital stations top out at over 100,000 cy. Standard accommodations are 20-25 cy per person, including corridors and living space, and weigh in at 1 ton per unit. Hulls weigh approximately .01 ton/ yd3 and cost 70/ yd3. Determine size (in yd3), material(s), armour, compartmentlisation (non-compartmentalised sections of the ship may decompress if the hull is punctured), and stress rating. Size: A lifeboat may range in size from 5-200 yd3; a shuttle or scout ship from 50-500 yd3; a freighter from 200-40,000 yd3; and an orbital station would be 100,000 yd3 or more. Material: The best available hull material masses .01 tons/ yd3 and costs $2000 US/ yd3. Armour: Armour reduces damage taken in combat. Unarmoured ships have a Defense Factor (DF) of 0. Any vehicle may be armoured. Armour adds mass, but not volume. Armour masses .2 tons/yd3, and costs $1000 US/yd3, for a Defense Factor of 1. Armour cost and mass double for DF 2, quadruple for DF 3, and so on. Compartmentlisation: Interior walls to compartments are pressure-tight, and there are more pressure doors on a compartmentalised ship. Standard compartment walls are DR 6, HT 20. Pressure walls and doors are DR 12, HT 40. Heavy and total compartmentalisation are available at 50% and 100% additional base hull cost and mass. Heavy compartmentalisation means that most doors and walls are DR 8, HT30. Pressure doors and walls are common, with DR 16, HT 50. Total compartmentalization means that every wall and door is a pressure wall and door, DR 16, HT 50, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Stress Rating: The stress rating is the amount of weight (not mass) that a hull can bear safely. At 1G, weight and mass are equivalent. A hull that will never land can have a low stress rating. A standard hull has a stress rating (in tons) equivalent to its volume in yd3. Increasing (or decreasing) a stress rating is done by incrementing the cost and mass by 1% for each 2% change in stress rating. (doubling the stress rating adds 50% cost and mass, for example.) Streamlining This is only necessary if the ship will enter an atmosphere. Aerodynamic streamlining adds 50% to the hull cost and 10% to the mass. Winged streamlining (for maneuvering in well in atmospheres) adds 100% to the hull cost and 25% to the mass. (You may want to consider this for a landing craft/shuttle only.) Step 3: Power & Engines - Determine the power plant size and output, maneuvering drive, main drive, and fuel type and capacity. Power is measured in megawatts (MW). Power output takes into account the power that keeps the power plant itself running and under control. Redundant power systems and additional capacity are recommended. Drives produce thrust, measured in tons. The acceleration of a ship (measured in Gs) is determined by the thrust. A 100-ton ship with a thrust of 100 tons accelerates at 1G. A 1000-ton ship with a thrust of 100 tons accelerates at .1G. Maneuvering drives are used to make small navigational corrections, for docking, and for maintaining orbit. Main drives are more powerful than maneuvering drives and propel the ship through space. Fuel type is dependent upon the type of drive, while capacity is determined by the size of the ship and the amount of storage space you are willing to commit to fuel storage. Step 4: Quarters - Allot quarters for the crew and passengers, and life support for same (air, water, food, waste disposal). Space and mass must be allotted to each person aboard the ship. For short flights, only seating space is required. Longer flights require living accommodations. Crew requirements vary greatly, but the following positions must be filled (positions may be filled by more than one person): Command: one person, plus one per five additional non-command crew. Officers who supervise engineers are usually engineers themselves, and an officer may double as a pilot or gunner. Pilot: At least one, preferably three plus a navigational specialist (who may double as a backup pilot in an emergency). Medical Personnel: At least one full-time medical specialist (flight surgeon) for up to 20 people, with one additional medic or assistant for each additional 50 people. Engineers: One full-time engineer for every 60 tons or fraction thereof of the total mass of the drives and power plant. On small ships, engineers may also be responsible for life support. Life Support Technician: One full-time LST for ships carrying more than 20 people, plus one additional LST for each additional full 100 people. Service Personnel: Includes cooks, yeoman, and support positions. One full-time service person for ships carrying more than 20 people, with an additional person for every additional 50 people on board. General Maintenance Technician: One GMT trained for Extra-Vehicular Excursions (EVE) if there are more than 10 people aboard, plus one for every 50 people OR 1,000 tons of ship, whichever is more. Concierge Service: Only required on passenger vessels. One full-time person for each 50 cargo or steerage class passengers, 20 second-class, 10 first-class passengers, or 2 luxury passengers. Gunners: One per weapon system. Weapons may not be operated unless there is a gunner manning the station. Additional Crew: this may include redundant personnel for any position, various technical specialists (communication, sensory equipment, calculating equipment), scientists, cargo specialists, various assistants, &c. N.B.: Calculating equipment can mitigate the amount of work required. The better the calculating equipment, the more work it can do. Remember to allot a certain amount of weight/mass per person for equipment. For short flights, only seating room is required. Crew members require pilot chairs (one per crew member), with a weight of Type of Accommodation Weight (Tons) yd3 of Space Cost Crew 1 25 $4,000 Steerage Second Class 1 20 $3,000 First Class 2 40 $6,000 Luxury 3 100 $30,000 Life Support: This is available as limited (for shuttles, lifeboats, etc.) and comprehensive. Life support provides heat, light, and air. Extra capacity is highly recommended. Limited life support requires 1/10 ton, 1/10 yd3, and $500 per person-day of support. When the capacity is exhausted, that's it. So long as there is power, the life support system operates. Comprehensive life support works indefinitely. It requires 2 tons, 4 yd3 , 1/2 MW of power and and costs $5,000 for the base unit. Additionally, it requires 1/2 ton, 2 yd3 , and $500 for each person supported. Step 6: Sensory and Calculating Equipment - Enumerate all calculating and sensory gear, an instrumentation. See "The Amazing Mr. Edison" entry in the Lunar Ellipse Blog for details about available equipment. Step 7: Airlocks, &c. - Determine number, location, and size of air-locks, cargo bays, docking areas, and auxiliary vessels (scouts, shuttles, lifeboats). Air-locks may be used in the interior of the ship as well as in exterior exits. Air-locks are available in Large, Standard, and Single sizes. Size Capacity Volume (yd3) Mass (Tons) Cost Large 12 adults 24 2 $20,000 Standard 4 adults 8 1 $10,000 Single 1 adult 2 1/2 $3,000 Other Accessories Passage Tube: A flexible tube that connects two airlocks. May be pressurized, allowing people and objects to traverse it without vacuum protection. 100 feet long, 8 feet in diameter. Takes 1 hour for 1 person to rig in micro-gravity, or thirty minutes for two or more people. Requires mechanical competency. PD 3, DR 12, $1000 Secondary Bridge: Requires one backup calculator. Allow 1 yd3 , 0.1 ton, and $100 per bridge crew member (minimum 10 yd3 , 2 tons, $2,000). All ships must have a main bridge at least twice the size of the secondary bridge. Cargo Space: You can take it with you, provided you allow enough space and mass. When you do your calculations (Step 8, below) remember to account for the volume and mass of all cargo, including rations, water, etc. Step 8: Calculations - Calculate the mass, volume, and power usage of each component, and tot it up. Step 9: Acceleration - Using the mass calculation from Step 8, determine the ship's rate of acceleration/deceleration. A Few Words about Escape Velocity Let's face it, gravity sucks. If you want to blast off into the wild blue yonder, you.re going to have to accelerate to more than 1G. In a chemical-fuel rocket, 99% of the mass will be fuel, but that gets you 4 to 8 Gs of acceleration. (Ouch!) Any ship with more than 1G of acceleration, however, can reach escape velocity. See the table below: Gs Acceleration Time to Escape Earth's Gravity 1.01 30 hours 1.1 3 hours 1.2 90 minutes 1.5 35 minutes 2 18 minutes 3 9 minutes 4 6 minutes 5 3.5 minutes The above information is based on the difference between the ship's acceleration and 1G. The trip duration halves every time the difference between the acceleration and 1G doubles. You can calculate the escape velocity of any world (in miles per second) by multiplying the Gs by R (which his the radius of the planet in Earth radii), taking the square root, and multiplying by 6.9. Time to reach escape velocity is calculated (in seconds) by dividing escape velocity by (ship's acceleration - G) and multiplying by 165. By this time you.re probably thinking that there's got to be a better way than sheer force. There is. Think about assisted takeoff and winged takeoff. I highly recommend checking out recent (1-2 years) back issues of Scientific American and Discover magazine for ideas.