General Drop Tank Tender?

[whartung]

For "known, standard" docking and towing, such as containers that are designed for it and the specs for doing the towing are already determined and in the computer library, it'll be a MUCH EASIER task (since most of the work will have been done and tested ahead of time). Mostly a case of "follow the known procedures and you should be fine" kind of deal.

"Towing" is a bit of a misnomer, me thinks. Towing implies a soft connection, to me. Like a cable, vs a hard fastener, like a "dock".

I cannot see anyone doing much real towing in space. Loosely connected "things" in zero-g with no drag, just...just...just a bad idea. At least in the oceans we have a huge body of water to act as drag on the hull of the towed vessel.

Once things are all bolted together, then its routine, as the engineers already have the dynamics worked out: center of mass, center of thrust, load balancing, making sure the liquid tanks are full to avoid sloshing (wouldn't THAT be fun!). What's it like stopping a 100K ton freighter with 10K tons of fuel sloshing about in a 30K ton hole in the ship?

 

[Condottiere]

Fun part must be towing plus half way deceleration.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I cannot see anyone doing much real towing in space.

Ever heard of this story before?

The commercial space tug Nostromo is returning to Earth with a seven-member crew ...

Or how about this one?

What is a reboost on the ISS?

The International Space Station (ISS) relies on periodic re-boost maneuvers to counteract the natural decay of its orbit caused by atmospheric drag. Rebooting involves firing the engines of docked spacecraft to provide a thrust that increases the ISS's velocity and raises its altitude.

Why does the ISS need to be boosted?

Boost to Higher Orbit: The space station flies at an altitude where Earth's atmosphere still creates drag, requiring regular re-boosts to stay in orbit. The station operates in low Earth orbit above 400 km in altitude and has a mass of more than 430,000 kg.

I cannot see anyone doing much real towing in space.

QUOTE: "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

 

[coliver988]

The Nostromo was docked at the front and the engines had open access all the way through. it was not towing the mining facility but was more of a removable engine.

edit: yes, I do have that technical manual too!

 

[Spinward Flow]

it was not towing the mining facility but was more of a removable engine.

I am trying SO HARD to NOT point and laugh ...

 

[coliver988]

I am trying SO HARD to NOT point and laugh ...

me too!

 

[Grav_Moped]

freighter with 10K tons of fuel sloshing about in a 30K ton hole in the ship?

That's a baffling question.

Baffle (noun) (wiktionary.org).

 

[Spinward Scout]

That's a baffling question.

Baffle (noun) (wiktionary.org).

Putting in a removable ceiling would keep fuel movement to a minimum and keep inertia from building up.

Also, would all of that fuel be in zero-g? If there are grav plates in the fuel hold, there are also inertial compensations, right?

 

[Danestar]

Also, would all of that fuel be in zero-g? If there are grav plates in the fuel hold, there are also inertial compensations, right?

Probably depends on the individual ship design, I would assume a ship was designed to handle the fuel depending on the choices made.
Alternatively the vessel was built assuming the one option and the other choice was used, an interesting player hook.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

Also, would all of that fuel be in zero-g? If there are grav plates in the fuel hold, there are also inertial compensations, right?

Presumably:

MT Consolidated Errata, p25:
Page 60, left column, Controls and Bridge Section (clarifications): There is no need to install basic life-support or extended life-support in the ship’s fuel tanks. If you do install grav plates and/or inertial compensators, you need to install them in the entire hull volume. You need to install basic environment in the entire hull volume as well, including the fuel tanks. You need something to keep the fuel load at a constant temperature—plus when inspecting empty fuel tanks, lighting is a tremendous help.