There are Beriev KB (Be). He now specializes in seaplanes, in the VIA, he can specialize, for example, on freight shuttles
Beriev is famous mostly for his amphibious planes. And, as second thought, amphibious shuttles aren`t a bad idea for garden worlds and other planets with significant volume of liquid on the surface. You can have a "spaceport" where the liquid is, almost without any effort.
Beriev is famous mostly for his amphibious planes. And, as second thought, amphibious shuttles aren`t a bad idea for garden worlds and other planets with significant volume of liquid on the surface. You can have a "spaceport" where the liquid is, almost without any effort.
What a bizarre coincidence! I was just thinking the other day that a seaplane-like landing craft would be a great way for the first colonists to a planet to deliver heavy supplies to the surface before they could build long runways. The planes could possibly be reusable but a better use would be for the colonists to drag them onto the shore and take them apart - the fuselage frame and skin could be used to make shelters, the APU's could become generators and so forth.
What a bizarre coincidence! I was just thinking the other day that a seaplane-like landing craft would be a great way for the first colonists to a planet to deliver heavy supplies to the surface before they could build long runways. The planes could possibly be reusable but a better use would be for the colonists to drag them onto the shore and take them apart - the fuselage frame and skin could be used to make shelters, the APU's could become generators and so forth.
I thought the era of rapid expansion with one-way colonisation ships have allready ended in VIA? So, my guess was some sort of re-usable SSTO design, wich can ease requirements for dedicated spaceports.
Sorry, my bad. I meant during the early years of expansion (c.2120-60). A potential colony landing site might not have enough open space for drop pods let alone shuttles. A seaplane-lander could deliver a bulldozer and some pierced steel planking which could be used to build the first landing areas.
A SSTO seaplane in later years would also be a good system
Started detailing the hull and added a basic cockpit. If I keep the glass tinted enough I shouldn't have to go too bananas on the detailing. Popped a 2d figure in there to show the scale. It's really pretty big.
Hey that looks pretty cool! I haven't folllowed this thread until just recently. That looks great, I had my doubts from the very eraly concept model you posted.
Yep, that is the hatch for the flight crew, it's .81m by .81m. That should be plenty of room considering they are just wearing pressure suits. The hatch to the unpressurized passenger area in the rear is much larger, about 2 meters in diameter. As a BTW, won't be doing any updates over the weekend as I'll be out of town.
If they are wearing a simple pressuire suit, or better yet a mechanical counter pressure suit, then that size hatch should be fine. Heck even the Apollo LEM had a relatively small hatch and those suits were seriously bulky.
Well, in my case, I made the "standard" for HRE 1.3m in diameter, for both light craft docking and EVA work. 1.8m tall person in vac suit with life support and zero-g maneuvering equipment fits just fine.
Just as side note. There was an accident with first man in the history, to perform EVA - Leonov. He managed to get outside just fine. But when time to return comes, he noticed, that vac suit, fit into the dock no more. Internal pressure make the suit more bulky. So, he had to lower pressure to a minimum level, to get in. So, I sort of fear of small hatches for EVA work.
In the Soviet Union created such semi-fantastic projects that now seem unrealistic, and in fact if these projects could easily be implemented, and the space was not so far away.
Hence the proposal. Why not for the Soviet space shuttle to base the project single-stage aerospace plane MG-19, has been working out in the SRI-4 (then CRI-50) of the Ministry of Defence team led by Oleg Gourko.
It seems to be the render of the same SSTO, that I showed before. "Modernized" a bit, with stylish paintjob, but internal structure seems to be literally identical. Same nuclear thrusters
BTW, the cutaway shows, just how much propellant (compared to all other volume) the spacecraft have to carry, to have decent delta-V :argh:
That is a very cool looking shuttle!
Got a little more done on the moonbug, I think another round or two of detailing and it will be done.
Also doodled out an idea for the passenger liner
It has two counter-rotatating spin sections attached to a central fixed ring and a big old hole in the middle. The 1st and 2nd class passengers are in the ring, the gutter-trash proles will be packed away in 'dream-pods' in the front of the ship. My idea behind the look of the ship is to make it look both interesting and artistic while solid, I think that would be psychologically reassuring to people traveling on it.
I can see 2 problems here. It`s a passenger liner - this means, that it have to deliver passengers as fast and as comfortable, as possible. Also, it suippose to be cost-efficient, since it is commercial.
1) Such G-ring position, prohibits the continuous accelerations, save for the fractions of G. On HRE battlefrigate, ring is unmanned during combat acceleration, or continuous thrust. battlefrigate can afford it, since it is military vessel, comfort is secondary.
2) Empty space in the "hole"... It looks fine, sure. But it could be used for something.
I don`t mean that it is bad design. On the contrary, it is rather good. Just come with some sort of explanation for this two problems.
And yes, moonbug seems to be nearly complete, great work.
Great points as always. I'm going with the idea that this is more of a cruise ship than passenger liner; meant to give bored moneybags of the future a taste of space, minus the pesky things like zero-g toilets and explosive decompression. So on that conceit having a very low g acceleration isn't a problem. The first and second class passengers pay for a vacation, while the frozen fodder are knocked out so it is of no consequence to them.
I'm Also going with the idea this is the first ship of its kind. Much like the titanic was, and no,no plans on smashing this into an asteroid.
Now the hole. Purely to look different, plus I have an idea to do some kind of interesting design running around the inside of it like falling rose petals or something like that. Plus the lifeboats are there too.
Great points as always. I'm going with the idea that this is more of a cruise ship than passenger liner; meant to give bored moneybags of the future a taste of space, minus the pesky things like zero-g toilets and explosive decompression. So on that conceit having a very low g acceleration isn't a problem. The first and second class passengers pay for a vacation, while the frozen fodder are knocked out so it is of no consequence to them.
Hmm... That could be an interesting idea. If you remove capability of second class frozen passengers transportation, you will receive awesome luxurious yaht!
I'm Also going with the idea this is the first ship of its kind. Much like the titanic was, and no,no plans on smashing this into an asteroid.
"Iceteroid!" It have to be Iceteroid!
Now the hole. Purely to look different, plus I have an idea to do some kind of interesting design running around the inside of it like falling rose petals or something like that. Plus the lifeboats are there too.
On second thought - IF it is a yaht, and not a dedicated liner, you can leave the hole be, since it is more of work of art, and not a cost-effective tool. How about the ring, being basicly a mobile space station, with transparent top and gardens all around?
Sometimes when browsing this thread, i wish i were born three hundred years in the future, flying my moonbug around and singing sad space miners' songs ^^
Had a very busy week and haven't been able to work on stuff as much as I would like. Finished up the model and decided on this scheme. Still have a ways to go though.
Had a very busy week and haven't been able to work on stuff as much as I would like. Finished up the model and decided on this scheme. Still have a ways to go though.
ugly but very believable.
Sometimes when browsing this thread, i wish i were born three hundred years in the future, flying my moonbug around and singing sad space miners' songs ^^
This one is going to be a constant thrust< in system passenger ferry. The hammerhead is the habitable section that rotates 180 degrees when the ship is decelerating.
Posts
Not really, you can cheat. Tint the windows gold for protection against radiation
What a bizarre coincidence! I was just thinking the other day that a seaplane-like landing craft would be a great way for the first colonists to a planet to deliver heavy supplies to the surface before they could build long runways. The planes could possibly be reusable but a better use would be for the colonists to drag them onto the shore and take them apart - the fuselage frame and skin could be used to make shelters, the APU's could become generators and so forth.
A SSTO seaplane in later years would also be a good system
-Will
Have we seen a hatch yet?
Yep, that is the hatch for the flight crew, it's .81m by .81m. That should be plenty of room considering they are just wearing pressure suits. The hatch to the unpressurized passenger area in the rear is much larger, about 2 meters in diameter. As a BTW, won't be doing any updates over the weekend as I'll be out of town.
.
Just as side note. There was an accident with first man in the history, to perform EVA - Leonov. He managed to get outside just fine. But when time to return comes, he noticed, that vac suit, fit into the dock no more. Internal pressure make the suit more bulky. So, he had to lower pressure to a minimum level, to get in. So, I sort of fear of small hatches for EVA work.
Hence the proposal. Why not for the Soviet space shuttle to base the project single-stage aerospace plane MG-19, has been working out in the SRI-4 (then CRI-50) of the Ministry of Defence team led by Oleg Gourko.
http://s4.forumimage.ru/uploads/20110901/131487593406007075.jpg
http://www.buran.ru/images/gif/mg-19_2.gif
http://s05.radikal.ru/i178/1006/4c/38ff2ad0771c.jpg
BTW, the cutaway shows, just how much propellant (compared to all other volume) the spacecraft have to carry, to have decent delta-V :argh:
Got a little more done on the moonbug, I think another round or two of detailing and it will be done.
Also doodled out an idea for the passenger liner
It has two counter-rotatating spin sections attached to a central fixed ring and a big old hole in the middle. The 1st and 2nd class passengers are in the ring, the gutter-trash proles will be packed away in 'dream-pods' in the front of the ship. My idea behind the look of the ship is to make it look both interesting and artistic while solid, I think that would be psychologically reassuring to people traveling on it.
1) Such G-ring position, prohibits the continuous accelerations, save for the fractions of G. On HRE battlefrigate, ring is unmanned during combat acceleration, or continuous thrust. battlefrigate can afford it, since it is military vessel, comfort is secondary.
2) Empty space in the "hole"... It looks fine, sure. But it could be used for something.
I don`t mean that it is bad design. On the contrary, it is rather good. Just come with some sort of explanation for this two problems.
And yes, moonbug seems to be nearly complete, great work.
I'm Also going with the idea this is the first ship of its kind. Much like the titanic was, and no,no plans on smashing this into an asteroid.
Now the hole. Purely to look different, plus I have an idea to do some kind of interesting design running around the inside of it like falling rose petals or something like that. Plus the lifeboats are there too.
Hmm... That could be an interesting idea. If you remove capability of second class frozen passengers transportation, you will receive awesome luxurious yaht!
"Iceteroid!" It have to be Iceteroid!
On second thought - IF it is a yaht, and not a dedicated liner, you can leave the hole be, since it is more of work of art, and not a cost-effective tool. How about the ring, being basicly a mobile space station, with transparent top and gardens all around?
Sometimes when browsing this thread, i wish i were born three hundred years in the future, flying my moonbug around and singing sad space miners' songs ^^
ugly but very believable. in many ways khay is right.