push or pull in space

[Hilary_155]

High Guard (Mongoose Traveller 2E) has a tow cable. This can only work if the ship and object being towed are lined up center of gravity wise. The towing ship must also have it's manoeuver drives offset so they aren't in the same place as the tow cable - or if they are centrally located, then two tow cables must be used. Plus, when the ship stops accelerating, any elasticity in the cable would cause it to rebound, pulling the towed object toward the ship.

Would it make way more sense to instead get behind the object and push it with the front of the ship?

Thanks for responding to those who respond -

 

[Condottiere]

The tow rope is the cheap option.

Tow poles aren't mentioned.

However, you could dock on the object, but that requires the requisite docking clamp.

 

[Hilary_155]

Tow

I see no need for push poles. I also think a docking clamp isn't required - at least not one of the sizes listed - not if the pushing ship doesn't make sharp turns.

If the tow cable is placed up front, attaches to the object, then pulls it to be in contact with the front of the ship, then some form of contact bumper should suffice. Tug boats push around much larger vessels without elaborate docking clamps. I agree something should be located where the two touch. And if it's just a bumper than the ship cannot slow down the object without reorienting so that it's in front - whether that means detaching and moving to the other side or slowing rotating both so they are facing the other direction.

 

[robject]

Which makes me ask: are there rules for using a tractor/pressor beam?

 

[Condottiere]

There's always the danger that pushing the object, the spaceship or the object slips out of alignment, so that it travels in a slightly different direction.

 

[atpollard]

Tow cable:

Draw a capital "H".

Bend the letter so that the two long verticals lean at 45 degrees.

The forward vertical is the "Towing Ship".
The short horizontal is the "tow line".
The lagging vertical is the "Towed Ship".

The Towing Ship will vector its thrust parallel to the Tow Line, causing both ships to travel in the direction of the tow line.

The mass of the towed ship, distance between the engine and the tow line, and the angle between the towing ship and the tow line will all create a torque that will attempt to "turn" the towing ship to face towards the towed ship. The engine will need to be gimbaled slightly to create a counter-force to offset the force attempting to turn the towing ship.

The engine is never in-line with either the tow rope or the towed ship, so both remain safe. The towed ship will never collide with the towing ship, at worst it will simply fly past it.

To decelerate, the towing ship stops accelerating; slows slightly to allow the towed ship to pass it, rotates and positions itself at the same angle with the engine direction reversed. The towing ship can now "accelerate" in the opposite direction that both ships are traveling until they reach zero velocity.

From stop, several small ships can guide the disabled ship with greater precision into a shipyard for repairs.

 

[Condottiere]

In theory, three spaceships, considering three dimensions.

 

[GypsyComet]

Which makes me ask: are there rules for using a tractor/pressor beam?

Pressors (or the Traveller term, Repulsors) and Tractors are, in my opinion, one of the reasons Traveller gets away with at-volume or a bare 10% surcharge on subcraft slips. Combat capable Repulsors are BIG, but a little docking assist at 20 meters or less should be much simpler and smaller.

Trek level Tractors are both big and high tech. One of the Starfleet Battles (a Trek offshoot setting) races uses rapid pulse tractor and repulsor (the "TR Beam") to literally shake targets apart in a fight. In yet another setting (I forget which) that has an evocative name: Rattler. But even as a tow hook, the Trek Tractor is likely beyond Traveller Imperial tech. Constant use is probably power hungry to begin with, and manipulating something with the same order of magnitude mass as the tractor using ship is likely voracious.

Traveller Repulsors are essentially using Judo throws on missiles, making their velocity a liability by tweaking the vector *just* enough to cause a miss, and doing so for entire flights of missiles.

 

[PVernon]

Note:

Rattlers - Sector General Hospital series by James White
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sector_General