Mongoose 2300AD: Minimum hardware for interstellar flight?

[Brandon C]

This came up i another thread, where I mentioned that a small craft in SotFA was mentioned as sometimes being refitted for interstellar trips., and the issue of just what components a ship needs to do this.

My list (and yes, most are quite obvious):

stutterwarp drive
some type of power plant (theoretically, batteries might be sufficient)
bridge or control cabin
standard navigation sensors
model 3+ computer
stateroom (enough to berth at least half the crew)

Anything else?

 

[McPerth]

This came up i another thread, where I mentioned that a small craft in SotFA was mentioned as sometimes being refitted for interstellar trips., and the issue of just what components a ship needs to do this.

My list (and yes, most are quite obvious):

stutterwarp drive
some type of power plant (theoretically, batteries might be sufficient)
bridge or control cabin
standard navigation sensors
model 3+ computer
stateroom (enough to berth at least half the crew)

Anything else?

Odd course, fuel and supplies for the crew during the trip

 

[mike wightman]

Comms of some sort...

 

[epicenter00]

What kind of interstellar trips are you talking about?

Would this be something like you'd see on 2300's version of Top Gear or maybe a university project to determine how you could make interstellar trips with the minimum of equipment (eg; with special circumstances just to get from A --> B for publicity)? Or do you mean the cheapest ship you could use for transporting people between star systems?

Publicity Stunt: I think the idea would basically be power plant, someone in a spacesuit with additional life support supplies for the duration of the trip, a pre-programmed flight computer for the trip, and the stutterwarp.

Cheapest Practical Ship:

My list (and yes, most are quite obvious):

stutterwarp drive
some type of power plant (theoretically, batteries might be sufficient)
bridge or control cabin
standard navigation sensors
model 3+ computer
stateroom (enough to berth at least half the crew)

Anything else?

Communications - so they can talk to other ships and ground control.

IFF - the ID of the ship that would use the Communications array to communicate its identity to other ships and ground control as well as negotiate the bondafides of other parties to the crew of the ship. Likely it'd be included as part of "computer" and would need "communications" to work.

Pressure hull - should include radiation shielding.

Microcollision Defense - this might be 'plasma shields' or some similar EM field to deflect them away, physical armor (such as whippet shields), or likely some combination of the two.

Standard Navigation Sensors - I'm assuming this includes things such as telescopes, radar, ladar, and whatever else they as sensors in 2300. Must be good enough to detect objects too large to be safely stopped by the microcollision defense.

Life Support - This is actually a much greater mass and weight than many think. It's going to require heaters and radiators to bleed off waste heat (depending). Atmospheric Life Support would need some sort of oxygen regenerator system, a carbon dioxide scrubber, filters to remove odors, either filters and/or sensors to detect harmful gasses, humidifiers and dehumidifers, and perhaps most of all ventilation such as fans to simply make sure the air gets pushed around. Then you'd likely need some sort of solution for toilets (waste elimination) - if you're going for super bare-bones perhaps that might just be equivalent of chemical toilets and if the trips are short and start and end at a starport, perhaps there are no showers so water (liquids) would only be needed for drinking. Otherwise, you'd need a plumbing system and showers, water reclamation (wastewater storage, filtering, purifying, and potable water storage).

 

[Brandon C]

I was not requiring any specific reason for the ship, although a small craft refurbished for interstellar travel would actually be of use to PCs as a private vessel. The ship that got me thinking about this is a 40 ton combat lander that has largely been sold as aging surplus.

Radar, ladar and comms are part of the standard electronics suite of any starship (it's not explicit, but I assume this is included in the ship's control section (bridge, cockpit, etc) and not hull. Transponders aren't mentioned, but they are probably part of civilian suites and IFF part of military suites.

Life support is not a separate component. Passenger couches include limited life support and staterooms full life support.

Pressure hulls and microcollision defenses are part of all spacecraft hulls. Improved radiation shielding can be bought but most ships don't.

I left out fuel because there are at least two different ways to approach this: time or range? Do you carry enough fuel to cover X days, regardless of how far you have travelled, or for range, regardless of how many days that takes?

 

[McPerth]

I left out fuel because there are at least two different ways to approach this: time or range? Do you carry enough fuel to cover X days, regardless of how far you have travelled, or for range, regardless of how many days that takes?

Is there a difference in MgT2300AD?

You don't use fuel for distance, but only for your Power Plant (unless you're making interface operations, of course), regardless if you're travelling or not.

So, your fuel must be accounted for time of operation, and make sure you have enough of it for the time needed to reach nearby stars if you intend to do so...

 

[atpollard]

IMU: A VaccSuit, a keg of beer with a straw, and a powerful Psion.

... but that is strictly 'house rules'.