I've been following this list for a while, and have a few thoughts: There seems to be a conflict between making the Randists "interesting" and making them...
Alligators move their lungs around in their bodies to maneuver... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080313/sc_nm/alligators_dc I couldn't make this up if I tried....
... http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal8/7501-7600/gal7517-Ay-Yildiz-Turkoglu/00.shtm ... Nah it wouldn't fly, the back tips of the wing will cause to...
Cl: Well it might fly so long as the computers work. Now immagine you're the test pilot flying a demostration at two hundred meters over a cheering crowd....
This comes up regularly, so we'll address it here. "What keeps freighters from just flinging pods on intercept courses at planets while they're doing a...
I'm glad you are taking this approach to the question. In many games the answer tends to be: "You can't! Why? Because... ..well, I'll think of something." I...
An idea I pulled out of some mental bins, originally for a different purpose, suddenly hit me. If we take a one ton micro-shuttle with thrust of 2.0 Gs and an...
... Okay. Forgive me for being an idiot again though, but how the heck do they work otherwise? My understanding of laser launch has always been that you pulse...
... The laser strikes a mirror, which redirects light into the reaction chamber from the side, thus avoiding heating up (and being blocked by) the exhaust...
Also, some use a flat panel on the side as the heat collector (like a solar water heater). The water gets heated into steam and then piped to the nozzle. This...
My question would be, what is the projected payload, and is there any other planet in the setting, including the ones with life but not human shirt-sleeve...
... It would be easier on most other planets, actually. Concord is pretty high gravity (Damso is worse). Payload optimally about 200 kg (figure maybe 600 kg...
So, I might be able to put one soldier and his gear aboard, or two soldiers without. I suspect this isn't going to be used to recover raiding parties....
... You could build a larger system. Of course, it would be proportionately heavier and more expensive. ... Not necessarily. It makes it easier, but you can do...
... Hmm. Seems obvious, in retrospect. I always think that building a mirror of that quality is too hard, but then the system wouldn't much work without them. ...
In a perfect world, I'd get excited about it when I could do about fifteen times this payload. If we don't have a mirror, how do we get around that?...
Then what is a typical turnaround time, and can it land and take off on the same fuel load? I presume you rely on using the hull to transfer the energy of the ...
... There are some advantages to sending it down unfueled, but on a planet with atmosphere it should be possible for it to land and take off on a single fuel...
... need ... the ... I like this. Let's scale it up. 1) Things of less than 25 metric tons are bad for ship construction. If we make it a 2 hull space drop...
... Agreed, but we don't want a stupidly large laser either, and it's not critical that the drop capsule itself be something buildable with ship construction. ...
Now for another issue: shuttles as bus missiles. Let's set a shuttle at 2,000 kg with thrust 40,000N at 10 km/sec. Power requirement is 200 MW, fuel fraction...
Okay, I did the math for variable ISp drives. Assuming max ISp remains at 10 kps, which is fairly reasonable, for 10 kps delta-V and an initial thrust of 2 Gs,...
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