Enterprise

[gabyalufix]

Very nicely done, sirguinea. I love it.

With respect to the whole structural integrity thing, I feel like I should mention that in a distant-future science fiction, all our assumptions are likely to be rendered irrelevant.

I mean, it\'d be equivalent to a 12-th century blacksmith trying to predict the design of a mun mission. 'Oh, clearly it would have to be bird shaped, or else it couldn\'t possibly fly, and you\'d need some kind of pen for the draft animals, which you\'d use to power the wings . . . '

Hell, they have antigravity and inertial dampeners and force fields. We have no reason to believe they can\'t just magically shift the center of mass to anywhere they damn well please. I think they even talk about 'structural integrity fields' in the technobabble.

Just read any futurism stuff from the 1920\'s and you\'ll see what I\'m talking about. The problem is that in terms of design, economics, and engineering, it\'s basically impossible to identify the limiting factors and natural consequences of a particular technology before it is invented.

Maybe space ships will need to be compact, to maximize structural integrity. But then again, maybe materials tech will advance so far that we have ultra-strong, mono-molecular polymers, but the fusion cores that everyone uses for power have such massive heat production that spaceships need to be long and spread out to maximize surface area for radiators. Or maybe we\'ll have portable electromagnetically-contained black holes to dump our heat down, but we need a MASSIVE and uninterrupted power supply or else the damn thing will eat the ship, so we need a solar array the size of a small moon. Would that even work? exactly.

Think nuclear submarines. Internally powered subs that can stay under for months or years without surfacing? In 1930 they would have called you an idiot for suggesting such a thing would exist within 24 years. 'Where would get its air?'. Predict space ship design in 2364? Best of luck with that.

Not that I don\'t love a good try. Just don\'t expect to actually be right.

[sirguinea]

I parked her in orbit around the Mun. Very stable now.

Very nicely done, sirguinea. I love it.

With respect to the whole structural integrity thing, I feel like I should mention that in a distant-future science fiction, all our assumptions are likely to be rendered irrelevant.

I mean, it\'d be equivalent to a 12-th century blacksmith trying to predict the design of a mun mission. 'Oh, clearly it would have to be bird shaped, or else it couldn\'t possibly fly, and you\'d need some kind of pen for the draft animals, which you\'d use to power the wings . . . '

Hell, they have antigravity and inertial dampeners and force fields. We have no reason to believe they can\'t just magically shift the center of mass to anywhere they damn well please. I think they even talk about 'structural integrity fields' in the technobabble.

Just read any futurism stuff from the 1920\'s and you\'ll see what I\'m talking about. The problem is that in terms of design, economics, and engineering, it\'s basically impossible to identify the limiting factors and natural consequences of a particular technology before it is invented.

Maybe space ships will need to be compact, to maximize structural integrity. But then again, maybe materials tech will advance so far that we have ultra-strong, mono-molecular polymers, but the fusion cores that everyone uses for power have such massive heat production that spaceships need to be long and spread out to maximize surface area for radiators. Or maybe we\'ll have portable electromagnetically-contained black holes to dump our heat down, but we need a MASSIVE and uninterrupted power supply or else the damn thing will eat the ship, so we need a solar array the size of a small moon. Would that even work? exactly.

Think nuclear submarines. Internally powered subs that can stay under for months or years without surfacing? In 1930 they would have called you an idiot for suggesting such a thing would exist within 24 years. 'Where would get its air?'. Predict space ship design in 2364? Best of luck with that.

Not that I don\'t love a good try. Just don\'t expect to actually be right.

Whoa, ok...you win.

[sirguinea]

Here is the craft file if anyone is interested in taking her for a spin. You will need the the C7 flight pack, experimental release (also part of C7) and also the NovaPunch remix mod (the boosters that get you off the launch pad). You will notice I had to make the boosters weighted on one side, make sure RCS is on when you launch or you may occasionally run into the tower. Enjoy!