Not so. If I want a gasoline motor with a certain amount of horsepower, I can find it. Depending on the HP, I almost certainly have a choice between multiple form factors: number of cylinders; in-line vs flat opposed vs V; high torque low RPM vs lower torque higher RPM. I could even look at diesel options just in case.
In the same way, there could be as many starship drive and power plant manufacturers as there are industrialized planets, or more than one on a planet in some cases. There would be an aftermarket for parts, as well as designs for on-demand manufacturing. It's thirty centuries in the future, man.
Don’t agree, but well argued.
LBB2 would be like classic Ford or Chevy V6 and V8 built in the millions, no electronic injection, readily fixable even in the boondocks in Africa with plentiful parts. On a larger form factor, something like the Alco or EMD engines used in both locomotives and boats.
LBB5 would be higher performance electronics managed turbo engines and gas turbines/jet engines, top end nuclear reactors- more bang for the dton with better fuel use but at the cost of a greater logistics demand to keep them flying.
Underpinning this view are two external factors.
Figured out that MCr1 per dton or better cargos ship well over dozens of parsecs so IND planets can sell them at 30% less and everyone can make a profit at both ends (while fitting a narrative of distant powerful planets suppressing frontier competition).
And TL/IND matters when it comes to starports. TL is commonly used equipment and transportation, my view is it’s more a function of what economic activity supports that TL. Starport level is arguably an outlier oasis of high tech by definition, indicating activity or funding to sustain it. Non-Ind means no way there is local production of any major capacity, all parts have to be imported. This is a very TCS perspective.
In combination, that says to me that an A-TL B starport can fix and make any letter drive ship and build/maintain TL B LBB5 ships. But an A-TL 8 Non-Ind starport can build letter drive ships only through imports and only maybe repair kludge something together to get your LBB5 ship to a properly equipped planet. An A-TL 8 starport with enough pop can sustain at least rare imported makers to emergency repair LBB5 ships but still isn’t a maintenance station for them.
Creates a picture of TL15 ships being rarely in private hands outside of megacorps and powerful/rich people, which suits me. Not everyones cup of tea.
