 August 21, 2011 - 4:41pm | In the Real World Jets are loaded by high loader trucks that pull up to the plane and the cargo box is jacked up on a sissors mechanism and gangplank is extended and the food carts are loaded directly into the side of the plane. http://www.ameinfo.com/68371.html It occured to me that KH style rockets will not land next to or any where near a terminal for safety reasons. So they are likely to land in a designated area of a wide open field. Service vehicles will run out to its location and do their thing. air locks and hatches are likely to be half way up the side of a rocket. A HS 3 rocket is typically 50m high and can be as much as 62m, by the book. It would not be unusual for a hatch to be 25 to 30 meters up. I'm envisioning Frontier version of a high loader truck as a wheeled transport truck. It pulls up to the side of a rocket and extends 4 stablizing feet from its four corners. These extend several meters out then set down their feet. Hydralic rams push the feet down till the wheels are lifted centimeters of the ground. This gives the truck a wide stable base. The cargo box is then raise to the hieght of the hatch/airlock and gangplank or tube is extended to the hatch. cargo is then loaded quickly into the rocket. There is a Bus version that holds passengers and delivers them in comfort to the rocket. The whole operation can be done in 30 minutes: extend stablizing feet, raise the box, unload and lower box, retract feet. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 21, 2011 - 4:53pm | It would be fairly easy to set up a star port. 1. Put in a tower/control center with a communications relay. 2. Lay down a level Perma-crete landing field 3. Burry fuel tanks underground (safety measure- above ground fuel tanks can be positioned a few Km away and it can be pipelined to the on site smaller underground tanks or trucked in) 4. Provide some workshops and mobile hangers for when a rocket needs major work the mobile hanger can be rolled out and closed around the rocket. 5. Build a terminal building and of course the ubiquitous star port parking lot, and vehicle rentals Welcome to Jedion's Star Port, we hope you enjoy your flight, just dont irritate the security screeners. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 August 21, 2011 - 7:38pm | Most ships that need to land should be streamlined and capable aerospace vehicles, thus functioning in both space and atmosphere. As such, they should be able to land like normal aircraft on a tarmac, and similarly have cargo doors that open from the "belly" of the ship. A variety of loaders could accomadate these vessels, and more extreme varieties. I would hope that in the Frontier they're not still using old-fashioned rocket-like ships for ground to space travel! Long live the Frontier! |
August 22, 2011 - 5:41am | It not at all certain that ships that land are streamlined. despite the artwork on the cover of the Warriors of White Light module, assault scouts and the Ellanor Mores variant land tail first, this allows their decks to remain in allignment with the planet's gravity. Except for fighters and shuttles I expect most ship that land will land in this fashion. That is unless you are using gravity deck plates in your ship then a horizontal orientation works fine. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 22, 2011 - 11:26am | It's just impractical; without streamlining, landing a spacecraft on a planet is a very difficult proposition. That's why the early space capsules and the space shuttle were designed the way they were. Anything that needs to move with any kind of grace through an atomsphere needs at least a little streamlining or face disintegration upon atmospheric entry. Still, one could always argue that the ships have protective screens, or durable hulls, or whatnot and land like an old 50's rocketship. :) Long live the Frontier! |
August 22, 2011 - 11:45am | I assumed they were landing under thrust, as that was the only way these ships could set down tail first, why will streamlining matter in that situation? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 22, 2011 - 11:51am | Again, landing like an aircraft would be more effecient. Streamlining also adds quite a measure of control in an atmosphere. I think we may need to simply agree to disagree here. Regardless, I agree that there would some really cool load mechanisms in the Frontier. Anything from hovertrucks to extendable lifts to powered exoskeletons. There may be as many different mechanisms as there are planets. Effeciency is always the key; the most work for the least cost. Some exotic machines might be possible, but too expensive or otherwise impractical. Long live the Frontier! |
