Onno Meyer wrote:
David wrote:
3000 tons (These are normal 2000 lb tons, right?) is only about 100
shipping containers. given this is an osekmoi ship, it's going to be
usually carrying containerized cargo. Star ship containers in this
setting are nominally 20mX10X10, and will hold smaller (roughly ISO
sized) containers if that makes sense for the cargo. This shuttle
looks like it would carry four or five of them. With suitable cargo
handling equipment on the ground, it would only take a couple hours to
unload them and then load new ones. (breaking them down into their
component containers would take a while, but that doesn't have to
delay the ship.)
600 or more tons per container? That requires a big crane, which
implies a big starport. Many smaller containers could be faster
to load.
While thinking of starship cargo and alternative popped into my mind.
Is a cargo shuttle really necessary for getting the cargo to the ground?
I don't think that it is.
How well would disposable heat shields and parachutes work? Aim them at
a shallow body of water for soft landings and pick them up with a ship.
Or drop them onto hard ground if the contents are padded enough or not
fragile.
In The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein had the Moon delivering cargo
to Earth this way.
You still need a heavy lift shuttle for the actual lifting of course,
unless you can build a beanstalk or an electromag accelerator and
skywheel combo.
But then, I don't think I know the setting this shuttle is intended for.
How about that, I just reviewed the original vehicle posting and it says
its intended for "from the surface of a planet to orbital factories or
transfer stations." Nothing at all is said about how they get back to
the planet surface. :-)
--
Zan Lynx
[email protected]
"Knowledge is Power. Power Corrupts. Study Hard. Be Evil."
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