New Colony Construction

[Krikkitone]

over the years of backpacking, I finally had the technique down to imagine each meal and what I needed before I left. And eventually my pack was pretty much ready as-is other than the food. But admittedly that took a number of trips, and colonization is pretty much a single event.

sorry - off-track from the thread and not sure how to steer it back. Resources, colonies, why people inhabit unpleasant worlds...err, the sheer challenge?

Well a person will only do one colonization, but a people will do many. Eventually they learn what successful colonies do.
As for why colonize an unpleasant world, a world will almost always be more pleasant than orbit (exceptions for atm B,C or high-G worlds).
-some resources may be much easier to get on planets.
-having a “gas stop”/rest stop
-maintaining control for political/military reasons

Finally if a world is C9C4987-7 then maybe the population is 99.999% in orbit. Just their habitats all orbit this world, because
-it is the best jump location in the system
-it is at the most ideal distance from the star
-there is research/resource collection expeditions that go down to the planet and this population originally supported them. (but now it is there because of the support industries that grew up)

 

[Enoki]

Assuming that the atmosphere is breathable, what architectural style do you think would be most appropriate in a new colony? I have 4 suggestions from my colleagues: "Converted Transport Containers", "Pre-fabs", "Adobe" (if it's dry enough) and "Whatever the local equivalent of wood is".

Any other suggestions?

It really depends on what materials are locally available and what technology and tools you have to work with that.

For example, if something like trees were available, and you had a sawmill with you, then log and lumber construction would be a great choice. If that weren't available, and stone was, then you go with stone. In dryer climates, use of adobe or rammed earth construction would be a choice.
Stone presents some issues as its suitability depends on exactly what kind of stone you have. Is it relatively soft, like sandstone or limestone, or is it super hard like dense granite? This, of course, depends on the planet itself and whether sedimentary rock can form in the presence of water as aeolian (wind) sediments don't compact nearly as well over time. Granite and basalt are formed from volcanic action so the planet needs an active core.

Your other choice is bring shelter with you. I'd think that your best bet in this area would be prefabricated buildings rather than using shipping containers. Knowing the planet's environment, you could bring appropriate buildings that would be erected on site.

I'd say the big question is What tools and equipment did you come with? That pretty much determines what you can and cannot accomplish on the colony world in the immediate aftermath of landing. That, in turn, would be determined by the survey results of the planet.

 

[Drew]

It really depends on what materials are locally available and what technology and tools you have to work with that.

For example, if something like trees were available, and you had a sawmill with you, then log and lumber construction would be a great choice. If that weren't available, and stone was, then you go with stone. In dryer climates, use of adobe or rammed earth construction would be a choice.
Stone presents some issues as its suitability depends on exactly what kind of stone you have. Is it relatively soft, like sandstone or limestone, or is it super hard like dense granite? This, of course, depends on the planet itself and whether sedimentary rock can form in the presence of water as aeolian (wind) sediments don't compact nearly as well over time. Granite and basalt are formed from volcanic action so the planet needs an active core.

Your other choice is bring shelter with you. I'd think that your best bet in this area would be prefabricated buildings rather than using shipping containers. Knowing the planet's environment, you could bring appropriate buildings that would be erected on site.

I'd say the big question is What tools and equipment did you come with? That pretty much determines what you can and cannot accomplish on the colony world in the immediate aftermath of landing. That, in turn, would be determined by the survey results of the planet.

The other questions that need to be asked is how long are you willing to put up with a temporary shelter and what type of skill sets of the first wave of colonists bring. A landing party on any planet would have to be composed of a large number of Lieutenant Commander Scotts (assuming a planetary survey has already been conducted.

 

[Enoki]

The other questions that need to be asked is how long are you willing to put up with a temporary shelter and what type of skill sets of the first wave of colonists bring. A landing party on any planet would have to be composed of a large number of Lieutenant Commander Scotts (assuming a planetary survey has already been conducted.

I'd expect the first party landing to be more like Navy CB's with a civilian contingent. They'd come with temporary shelters and immediately begin erecting a town of buildings out of a combination of stuff brought and local materials. They'd have heavy construction equipment with them and serious power tools to produce lots of building materials locally and then quickly erect buildings.
Supplies would include stuff you couldn't easily get locally, if at all.
Say the planet is earth-like. You bring metal fittings, fasteners, rebar, and the like with you. You have power saws and a sawmill to make lumber. You have a small rock crusher and sand and gravel plant to make those materials. A few small construction machines come along like a bulldozer or two, a loader or two, an excavator, dump trucks or trailers, etc.
HVAC, electrical, plumbing materials all come with you. You have the necessary equipment to begin farming immediately and timed your arrival to make growing and harvesting crops highly likely.

The planning would be after you land that within 60 to 120 days you have constructed permanent shelters and buildings for your initial colony and can now focus on expanding operations to include more specialized needs.

The contingent would be a small group of engineers and management with large numbers of tradesmen and farmers to get things going. If you know of special things you can do early on those specialists are with this group. For example, if there were a large lake or ocean on the planet and you know there are fish, you bring one or two fishing boats (disassembled) and fishermen to exploit that.

The group has basic military training and weapons to protect themselves.

The whole first group would be say somewhere between 200 and 1500 people with supplies for your 60 to 120 days to get into local production of basic needs.

 

[Drew]

I'd expect the first party landing to be more like Navy CB's with a civilian contingent. They'd come with temporary shelters and immediately begin erecting a town of buildings out of a combination of stuff brought and local materials. They'd have heavy construction equipment with them and serious power tools to produce lots of building materials locally and then quickly erect buildings.
Supplies would include stuff you couldn't easily get locally, if at all.
Say the planet is earth-like. You bring metal fittings, fasteners, rebar, and the like with you. You have power saws and a sawmill to make lumber. You have a small rock crusher and sand and gravel plant to make those materials. A few small construction machines come along like a bulldozer or two, a loader or two, an excavator, dump trucks or trailers, etc.
HVAC, electrical, plumbing materials all come with you. You have the necessary equipment to begin farming immediately and timed your arrival to make growing and harvesting crops highly likely.

The planning would be after you land that within 60 to 120 days you have constructed permanent shelters and buildings for your initial colony and can now focus on expanding operations to include more specialized needs.

The contingent would be a small group of engineers and management with large numbers of tradesmen and farmers to get things going. If you know of special things you can do early on those specialists are with this group. For example, if there were a large lake or ocean on the planet and you know there are fish, you bring one or two fishing boats (disassembled) and fishermen to exploit that.

The group has basic military training and weapons to protect themselves.

The whole first group would be say somewhere between 200 and 1500 people with supplies for your 60 to 120 days to get into local production of basic needs.

I like your thought process - where will 3D printing be at the time when we reached say Tech A or B? How much could be done robotically/drones using 3D printers?

I would look at a 3D base being constructed in a matter of weeks prior to the landing of a colonist party. It would include the possibility of a fuel refinery to power the modules (hydrogen conversion assumes water). Drop in some type of power generation (portable nuclear plant using thorium salt) about midway through the construction period for power.

 

[Enoki]

I like your thought process - where will 3D printing be at the time when we reached say Tech A or B? How much could be done robotically/drones using 3D printers?

I would look at a 3D base being constructed in a matter of weeks prior to the landing of a colonist party. It would include the possibility of a fuel refinery to power the modules (hydrogen conversion assumes water). Drop in some type of power generation (portable nuclear plant using thorium salt) about midway through the construction period for power.

3D printed buildings require the machine to do the printing (probably very large), and you bringing all the raw material to print it. I'd say it's unlikely that it could print in wiring, plumbing, etc., as it went.
The best choice for relatively permanent on-site buildings would be flat packs of wall, floor, and roof sections that come pre-everything. That is each section is insulated, wired, plumbed, finished, etc., and these are coupled together and the joints sealed to form a building. The early colony buildings don't have to be pretty. They have to be functional.
You'd want something that when finished provides protection from the elements and is comfortable and functional. In erecting it, you'd want something that can be done with a minimum of personnel and tools. For shipping, it fits in the least amount of space and leaves no wasted space.

Power generation depends on the planet again. For initial power, you'd want something reasonably reliable and quick to get into service. Solar and wind might be good early choices as they work for years without need for more resources. Yes, they aren't reliable, but that's not likely as big an issue early on in getting established. If there is a source of methane or wood gas, I'd say those are good choices for a simple, light, and reliable power plant. These could easily support a few hundred to a couple of thousand colonists.

Geothermal is another possibility that's pretty easy to get going assuming you bring in a drill rig, like modern jeep drills.

Keeping it simple, compact, and versatile is what you want early on. Equipment that can do many jobs and go wherever to do them is best. You want lower TL stuff, even if you are fairly high tech simply to make it easier to keep everything working.

 

[Spinward Flow]

3D printed buildings require the machine to do the printing (probably very large)

Not necessarily.

and you bringing all the raw material to print it.

Depends on whether you need to bring all the raw materials or not.

Why do I say that?
Well ...

ISRU = In-Situ Resource Utilization
Standard containers are used to bring in the 3D building printers that use ISRU to build the homes (just add power and materials).

If you need to build the houses "dirt cheap" ... it's best to make them out of dirt.
Go figure, eh?

 

[Condottiere]

I remember reading a story about prisoners of war, I think White, the same guy who wrote Sector General, where you just reconstruct a grounded spacecraft.

 

[Krikkitone]

Canonically TL12 robotic construction of new military bases was a key Solomani advantage at the end of the Interstellar Wars.

 

[robject]

The general consensus seems to be that an IY1105 colony would look so different to any ancient human settlement with only local materials and vernacular architecture - or would bring tech for posher stuff once those mines/plants get going - or both!

Every world is likely to be different -- which is what we'd want, isn't it?

But I agree that appropriate technology for the structure will be peppered with higher technology for the bits that are useful. Adobe with solar panels and a comm with a satellite link. Mesh screens for the doors and windows to filter out ... things.


In fact it seems easier to say the technological things they'll have in common than to predict what the structures will be.

Everybody will have a comm.
Groups of (8?) homes will share a 14kwh, 17 liter, pocket-fusion generator plus some ambient power like solar.
Slug-throwers are likely to be common.

 

[McPerth]

Groups of (8?) homes will share a 14kwh, 17 liter, pocket-fusion generator plus some ambient power like solar.

Smaller Power Plants use to be less efficient, so I'd expect larger ones for more people...

Slug-throwers are likely to be common.

I disagree at this point, as slug throwers need ammo to be manufactured (or brought in).

When supply may be a problem, I'd go for lasers, as they batteries may be recharged from any power source, and no extra building (or cargo) capacity must be dedicated to them (or at least, les of in, as spares would be needed, but also for slug throwers).

 

[Condottiere]

Can you magnetize lead?

Gauss weapon systems can recycle their ammunition.

 

[Drew]

Can you magnetize lead?

Gauss weapon systems can recycle their ammunition.

No lead cannot be magnetized

 

[McPerth]

Gauss weapon systems can recycle their ammunition.

As long as it's recovered and undamaged...

 

[Condottiere]

That's why I mentioned lead.

Though at this stage of technological progress, you can smelt steel or iron and pour them into a mold.

 

[McPerth]

Sure, but it would need more resources (both human and material) than just plugging your battery to a power source (there will be times, as probably night, where the power consume is not at its peack, so no more power production is really needed).

 

[Spinward Flow]

Slug-throwers are likely to be common.

Gotta have shotguns in spaaaaaaaace!
After all, shotguns are one of the last firearms to be restricted by planetary law levels ...

 

[robject]

I admit my first thought was shotguns, but I realized that rifles and pistols have their place as well, so I just went all inclusive.

 

[Condottiere]

It's a colony, so it would depend on how big and aggressive the hippos are.

I would think that more advanced rifles would be available, until the area is urbanized.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Can you magnetize lead?

With a strong enough magnetic field ... you can "magnetize" any element.
Of course, by that point you're breaking molecular bonds and destablizing everything into elemental ions with "absurd atomic electron cloud shapes" ... and it's about at this point that I need to let Anton Petrov take over the explanation of what kinds of properties a magnetar has ...