Shirubāottā: A Tale of Fusion and (Non) Functionality

[Akagi]

(I thought this would do well as a YouTube video with hand-drawn animations, but I doubt any of you could understand my super-fast Japanese, so here.)

(I also don't know where to put this, so mods, move at will)

 

When me and my twin brother were maybe 6, we had the idea to become astronauts. I mean, most 6-year-olds want to do that. Oh, and also palentology (proper spelling? yes? no?), but we liked space. We played in the backyard pretending we were on other planets, etc., but we got bored of it eventually.

 

Fast forward to last week end, when my brother found an old file on my computer labeled "宇宙船の図面" - "space ship drawings." Most of them seemed to be powered by exotic engines (one was powered by "アークドライブ," or arc drives), but one seemed logical. The シルバーオッター, or Shirubāottā (meaning Silver Otter), was a giant Bussard ramjet-powered ship, but apparently, Bussard ramjets don't work. They just don't have enough particles for fuel in the vacuum of space. A scanned-in picture of the Shirubāottā is in that spoiler down there. I've got some questions, though. 

1. Do ramjets emit any sort of particle that isn't good when it hits people? (No, it just shoots out atoms really fast)
2. How do I get fuel?
3. Should I bring other means of propulsion? (Yes, Yua, you idiot, of course you should! Magnetic sails, perhaps?)
4. Where should I go?
5. What other things should I add? (to the spaceship, not anything else)

1 and 3 are answered, but I need you guys to help me answer the other 3. I'll post more on this design as time goes by.

(Oh, and I'm sorry about the flipped image.)

 

Spoiler

 

[StrandedonEarth]

Hey, if we ever make it to other habitable planets, we’ll probably need some Astro-palaeontologists. So it sounds like you two are off to a good start. 

I could be wrong, but I thought the main issue with the Bussard Ramjet was that the magnetic ramscoop created more drag than the engine produced thrust…

[EnderKid2]

3 hours ago, StrandedonEarth said:

I could be wrong, but I thought the main issue with the Bussard Ramjet was that the magnetic ramscoop created more drag than the engine produced thrust…

Means it would still be useful for slowing down upon entry to a system...

[darthgently]

4 hours ago, Akagi said:

(I thought this would do well as a YouTube video with hand-drawn animations, but I doubt any of you could understand my super-fast Japanese, so here.)

(I also don't know where to put this, so mods, move at will)

 

When me and my twin brother were maybe 6, we had the idea to become astronauts. I mean, most 6-year-olds want to do that. Oh, and also palentology (proper spelling? yes? no?), but we liked space. We played in the backyard pretending we were on other planets, etc., but we got bored of it eventually.

 

Fast forward to last week end, when my brother found an old file on my computer labeled "宇宙船の図面" - "space ship drawings." Most of them seemed to be powered by exotic engines (one was powered by "アークドライブ," or arc drives), but one seemed logical. The シルバーオッター, or Shirubāottā (meaning Silver Otter), was a giant Bussard ramjet-powered ship, but apparently, Bussard ramjets don't work. They just don't have enough particles for fuel in the vacuum of space. A scanned-in picture of the Shirubāottā is in that spoiler down there. I've got some questions, though. 

1. Do ramjets emit any sort of particle that isn't good when it hits people? (No, it just shoots out atoms really fast)
2. How do I get fuel?
3. Should I bring other means of propulsion? (Yes, Yua, you idiot, of course you should! Magnetic sails, perhaps?)
4. Where should I go?
5. What other things should I add? (to the spaceship, not anything else)

1 and 3 are answered, but I need you guys to help me answer the other 3. I'll post more on this design as time goes by.

(Oh, and I'm sorry about the flipped image.)

 

  Hide contents

 

You will get your answers after you build this craft in KSP and post it here.  Only then will I reveal the knowledge you seek!

[Nuke]

cool thing about fusion for spacecraft propulsion is that it does not need to be break even. the point is to vector high energy particles out the tail pipe, not to make electricity. solar panels or a fission reactor can provide the input power. 

[Akagi]

13 hours ago, Nuke said:

cool thing about fusion for spacecraft propulsion is that it does not need to be break even. the point is to vector high energy particles out the tail pipe, not to make electricity. solar panels or a fission reactor can provide the input power. 

Exactly my plan: 2x fusion reactors power the ship, while unspecified large quantities of fission reactors make power.

 

15 hours ago, darthgently said:

You will get your answers after you build this craft in KSP and post it here.  Only then will I reveal the knowledge you seek!

Only if my computer is hit by lightning then the Shirubāottā will not crash KSP without TweakScale

But maybe a smol version to start off?

[darthgently]

13 hours ago, Nuke said:

solar panels or a fission reactor can provide the input power. 

This reminds me of a thought I had.  Solar panels should orient to the rocket plume if plume emits in the right spectrum and no sunlight is available

Edited April 1, 2022 by darthgently

[Akagi]

14 minutes ago, darthgently said:

This reminds me of a thought I had.  Solar panels should orient to the rocket plume if plume emits in the right spectrum and no sunlight is available

just sayin, this is cursed (clarifation: the emoji)

Edited April 1, 2022 by Akagi