Re: (2351) Gigantic Ships - a design

Juergen Kirsch writes:
> Subject: (2351) Gigantic Ships - a design
> the following ship-design is my answer to the discussion of gigantic
> ships and their problems. Its designed close to the German Traveller
> rules, so I don't know, to which set of american rules it fits. Any comments
> to the design a strongly encouraged !!!!!

It looks pretty much like this is using the American Book 5:High Guard ship
design system.  <The good old days!>

> The advantage of the design is the simplification of the refueling
> process. Instead of an ultra giant ship of 1,000,000 tons, only (max.)
> 7 ships of 100,000 tons take fuel. Someone calculate the number of
> fuel-carry-flights to a 1,000,000 ton ship (jump-6 !!!) as 14.000 flights
> with an average Modular-cutter with a capacity of 43 tons fuel. In
> standard Spaceports this procedure will last about weeks, perhaps month.
> In the actual design, the refueling of the AQT's isn't difficult, if a
> gas-giant is in the system. In all other cases, the refilling is as
> difficult, as the refueling of a 1,000,000 ton ship.

Well, the design looked pretty good to me, given the assumptions you have made
about fuelling.  Personally, though, I don't see any reason why you can't
refuel a 1,000,000 ton ship by gas giant skimming directly.  We could probably
think of one, but there is no such restriction in the rules. (At least here.)
I've also always figured that starports' orbital facilities refuel vessels
with whatever sort of hoses it would take to transport liquid hydrogen, rather
than with shuttle runs.

Rob Dean