being a space station i'm thinking(as i often do) how cool it would be to hang a space elevator from the bottom that nice array of antennae and masts on the bottom is begging for a space elevator running down it's centre. that double disc thing could even be it if you added a long cable below. cargo and passengers could be brought from the surface by elevator then transfer to interplanetary/interstellar ships docked around that wide ring section of the station.
Space elevator? Hmmn. I'll try one. I'm thinking four elevator strands and one central anchor strand. The counterweight will be a space station... and that's about all I have so far.
Tag: 0000 091800-0005714
Type: space elevator / spacedock
Status: active
Location: Bassialorous
(Orion 010.98-23340.71)
Culture: Bassi
Est. Age: 21,200 years
Size: 85km
Nickname: Upsy Daisy
Yeah, it's a 'bean stalk' space elevator. I was thinking of one those rotating launch tethers too. Maybe I'll do one of those later. Right now, I'm sort of noodling around, trying to figure how many cars would be in a 'train', and how they would couple and decouple from the tethers.
At the base, the tether anchors would split and be spread out over a few kilometers to keep bad weather and accidents from shutting down the elevator.
just checking, that latest image is the orbiting platform. the cables on the camera's side of the object lead down to the planet's surface, the cables on the far side lead up to geosynch orbit? if the image you posted before that one was the elevator car i think there is a problem with it's design, i assume those arms poking out to the right are for holding the cable. this will mean that there is a larger torque on the structure and the cable is kinked at the point where the car is. it would be best to have the cable run through the middle of the car with more or less equal mass distribution on either side, that will also make it easier to mount the motors needed for it to climb the cable. your latest pic looks pretty cool even if you are not yet sure what it could be, add a couple of arms for interplanetary ships to dock onto and it would be perfect as the space station. another tip is to put a big, but lightweight, "solar" panel onto the car once you have rearranged it's masses. this panel wouldn't be collecting solar radiation but rather a huge laser on earth would be aimed at it to power the car's motors, that way it doesn't need to carry fuel.
i didn't realise you had 4 cars about a central axis, solves your kinked cable problem. those clean and smooth perfect torus rings look very much like 1950/60s space station concepts. i'm starting to really like what your're doing with this.
that's great. just one thing to remember, the "gravity" strength on the inner ring will be a lot weaker than on the outer one. as an estimate it will be only a third of the "field" on the outer ring.
The inner ring is for cargo. Enough 'gravity' to keep things in place. I figured the inner ring was built first just as a depot for cargo and a very few passengers, and the outer habitat ring was added years later. Like how towns grow up around rail stations and harbors. That's why the ring designs are a little different.
Tag: 0000 011581-3221223
Type: Deep Explorer
Status: abandoned
Location: Oizys Prime
(Orion 002.94-26662.06)
Culture: Searchers
Est. Age: 1,265,000 years
Size: 420m
Nickname: Eidolon
from that underside angle it looks like a bit like a high speed scramjet test "plane". or some sort of re-entry vehicle with a big intake for some kind of airbreathing engine to take it back up halfway to orbit afterwards. If i had designed a ship with that shape it wouldn't be much more than 30m long, if not much smaller. it has a couple of nice lines to to it but this ship's shape doesn't, in my mind, suit it's purpose(would advise changing purpose and quoted size not design to make up for this).
from that underside angle it looks like a bit like a high speed scramjet test "plane". or some sort of re-entry vehicle with a big intake for some kind of airbreathing engine to take it back up halfway to orbit afterwards. If i had designed a ship with that shape it wouldn't be much more than 30m long, if not much smaller. it has a couple of nice lines to to it but this ship's shape doesn't, in my mind, suit it's purpose(would advise changing purpose and quoted size not design to make up for this).
Why should he change it? It's not an atmospheric ship, despite the fact it looks like one.
Added a big ol' symbol (I can't think of what the right word is for it) on the underside, and a few other little things. And I am searching for views that don't look horrible.
I believe the word you're looking for is "emblem."
From the front, it looks like a shark opening to chomp. The upper shield generators/weapons pods/dome thingies (technical term?) look a bit like blunt teeth.
Overall, this is one of your cooler works--esp. the color scheme. But, you're right, from some angles it's a bit ... odd.
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Tag: 0000 091800-0005714
Type: space elevator / spacedock
Status: active
Location: Bassialorous
(Orion 010.98-23340.71)
Culture: Bassi
Est. Age: 21,200 years
Size: 85km
Nickname: Upsy Daisy
Interesting design. I like the cars.
Yeah, it's a 'bean stalk' space elevator. I was thinking of one those rotating launch tethers too. Maybe I'll do one of those later. Right now, I'm sort of noodling around, trying to figure how many cars would be in a 'train', and how they would couple and decouple from the tethers.
At the base, the tether anchors would split and be spread out over a few kilometers to keep bad weather and accidents from shutting down the elevator.
A 12-car train.
The train station, where the cars are coupled/decoupled from the rail.
The station, and the cargo sorting area, and lower docks.
The habitat .
That made me think of this
Klaatu! Barada nikto!
Tag: 0000 011581-3221223
Type: Deep Explorer
Status: abandoned
Location: Oizys Prime
(Orion 002.94-26662.06)
Culture: Searchers
Est. Age: 1,265,000 years
Size: 420m
Nickname: Eidolon
(Looks a bit Klingonish from the side.)
(Not so much from any other angle)
Why should he change it? It's not an atmospheric ship, despite the fact it looks like one.
This one will be the larger of the two. (By the way, the shape is based on the idea of some rather large drive coils)
Added weapons and an engineering section
From the front, it looks like a shark opening to chomp. The upper shield generators/weapons pods/dome thingies (technical term?) look a bit like blunt teeth.
Overall, this is one of your cooler works--esp. the color scheme. But, you're right, from some angles it's a bit ... odd.
I never noticed the shark look. It's especially apparent with the thumbnail.