To Anastasius
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IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3709
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
To Anastasius
How does space travel work in the Hopeverse?
-
IamLEAM1983
- Site Admin
- Posts: 3709
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:54 am
- Location: Quebec, Canada
As Anastasius
"In decades past, Humanity saw my people's technology as the door to a new era of affordable space exploration and the beginning of Earth's existence as the seat of a central government - one that would legislate all of the world's off-planet colonies. The NASA I am familiar with has greatly benefited from those mathematical and technological aspects we have disclosed to your scientists. There, however, technical hurdles to consider. The Hydra was a ship that generated its own gravitational mass without the use of centripetal force, and Earth lacks the minerals required for the production of the deuterium core that saw me land in the Caucasus. Thusly, I may never be able to impart the means to generate gravity and inertia in objects free of gravity wells to the natives of this planet. I've done all I can and shared all of my flight commander's notes with the best Mankind has to offer - but while the will does not falter, there is no way for you to currently exploit these technologies. It is a pitiful state, truly, as you all so plainly dream of the days that will see fighter pilots take to the stars in nimble and responsive spacecraft... Science fiction always speaks plainly of a civilization's hope for the future, and what is there to see rips a wistful smile out of me.
Failing this, we Karthians have helped you to further your nascent understanding of ion engines. Low-power nuclear reactors generating a small, if constant amount of torque are more than sufficient to conquer great distances; all that is required is the window to increased speeds granted by the lack of inertia. In space, the slightest nudge can be built up to tremendous speeds over time, allowing you to join your newborn colonies on the Moon and Mars. Luna is hours away for you, now, while Mars' Acidalia Planitia only requires a few days' worth of Stasis on your part.
Space-folding, however, may come to negate your requirement for gravity generators. Many passenger ships and freighters inbound from Paradise begin their sojourn on ion engine thrust and stay the course until a safe distance has been reached. Until then, perpendicular segments are extended and allowed to spin along with the ship's centripetal force; generating a comfortable 0.6 Gs which most life forms seem to deem as being tolerable. Living quarters, conference rooms or observation decks are usually built in these partial torus segments. This usually takes a few weeks.
Afterwards, the ship's onboard quantum computer calculates both the ship's current and desired final location, and then affects a quantum leap by momentarily causing both points in space to overlap with one another. Once the process ends, the ship and its passengers find themselves within ion engine thrust of their destination, no matter if they previously were light-years away.
Of course, the precautions involved are designed in order to avoid unfortunate accidents caused by quantum travel. Foolhardy pilots have sometimes been known to kill entire passenger loads and cargoes alike by folding their spacecraft inside or against their intended point of destination, when they have not exposed their interior space to cosmic radiations or materialized inside an asteroid field. Considering, the civilian spacecraft agencies which govern travel plans between Earth and Paradise have made it illegal to fold within five light-minutes of Earth, and ten of Paradise. The remainder of ion engine travel creates a safe margin which allows for safe and guaranteed manual docking procedures, and maximizes efficiency and survivability.
Not that space cowboys are nonexistent, however... Both planets and their dependent colonies routinely have to charge idiots who in all likelihood should never have been trusted with a quantum computing device, much less an active nuclear core..."
Failing this, we Karthians have helped you to further your nascent understanding of ion engines. Low-power nuclear reactors generating a small, if constant amount of torque are more than sufficient to conquer great distances; all that is required is the window to increased speeds granted by the lack of inertia. In space, the slightest nudge can be built up to tremendous speeds over time, allowing you to join your newborn colonies on the Moon and Mars. Luna is hours away for you, now, while Mars' Acidalia Planitia only requires a few days' worth of Stasis on your part.
Space-folding, however, may come to negate your requirement for gravity generators. Many passenger ships and freighters inbound from Paradise begin their sojourn on ion engine thrust and stay the course until a safe distance has been reached. Until then, perpendicular segments are extended and allowed to spin along with the ship's centripetal force; generating a comfortable 0.6 Gs which most life forms seem to deem as being tolerable. Living quarters, conference rooms or observation decks are usually built in these partial torus segments. This usually takes a few weeks.
Afterwards, the ship's onboard quantum computer calculates both the ship's current and desired final location, and then affects a quantum leap by momentarily causing both points in space to overlap with one another. Once the process ends, the ship and its passengers find themselves within ion engine thrust of their destination, no matter if they previously were light-years away.
Of course, the precautions involved are designed in order to avoid unfortunate accidents caused by quantum travel. Foolhardy pilots have sometimes been known to kill entire passenger loads and cargoes alike by folding their spacecraft inside or against their intended point of destination, when they have not exposed their interior space to cosmic radiations or materialized inside an asteroid field. Considering, the civilian spacecraft agencies which govern travel plans between Earth and Paradise have made it illegal to fold within five light-minutes of Earth, and ten of Paradise. The remainder of ion engine travel creates a safe margin which allows for safe and guaranteed manual docking procedures, and maximizes efficiency and survivability.
Not that space cowboys are nonexistent, however... Both planets and their dependent colonies routinely have to charge idiots who in all likelihood should never have been trusted with a quantum computing device, much less an active nuclear core..."