 April 27, 2014 - 11:59pm | In the top of my list: Emergency power and life-support. |
 April 28, 2014 - 12:46am | Possibly some sort of way to move the crew away from the vessel if things go wrong. Some sort of ejection system perhaps (assuming they're in vacc suits). |
 April 28, 2014 - 3:26am | rope tethers on launches, and certainly extra LS. Launches have bubble canopies that open so I guess a tether for every occupant could come in handy. In fact I think that a work pod would have LS that a suited beign could plug into to save his suit's LS- 200% of a suits normal LS? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
April 28, 2014 - 3:44am | Yes, a suit could draw from the LS of whatever it's attached to, but then automatically go over to it's own LS in an emergency. |
 April 28, 2014 - 4:56am | Patch kit. Both for the work pod and for the the occupants space suit. First Aid supplies. Probably autoinjecters to keep the being awake and dull the pain so they can function. Possibly a coma inducing drug when the being has done all they can and must try to conserve life support. No weapons. A trope in many movies and shows of stashes of weapons everywhere aboard a ship and life boats but not actually found in the real world. They did include a pistol in military aircraft emergency kits but if the ships isn't military why would they have weapons in easy reach of passengers? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
April 28, 2014 - 5:51am | Militarised versions may possibly need extra stuff. I'm assuming that military ships tend to need such things. |
April 28, 2014 - 9:03pm | Another option would be a BFG... ...or better yet, a pair of BFGs and some robot/mecha actuators!  Who needs Fighters when you have hardcore Balls?!   |
 April 30, 2014 - 4:39pm | I imagine they would have the same emergency gear found in ground and atmospheric vehicles: nothing but what the buyer adds after purchase. |
 May 22, 2014 - 2:31am | I don't know about emergency equipment. I would asume that workpods are for work not used as life boats. Things I would think are on a workpod: Life support so the spacer does not have to keep helmet on all the time. Electronic controls for outboard working arms and hands (claws maybe) Various power tools, screwguns, revit guns, electric impact wrench. Cutting torch such as laser power torch. some kind of electric arc welder or MIG welder. Manuever jets to get around with. Lifting equipment to move cargo with. Towing cables of some sort. Some way to stay attached to the hull you are working on for repairs etc. I could see the crew of some ships stashing weapons in one maybe as a last resort or maybe because they know the customs agent never checks the workpod or whatever. I could see a standard first aid kid being in it. A basket on the outside for putting parts into when you go outside the ship. so that you dont have to carry spare parts with the working arms. General things like that. Think of pods from "2001 A Space Odyssey" but better; should have all the tools needed to make repairs outside the ship and also be used to move cargo. The bombing starts in five minutes. |
May 22, 2014 - 4:09am | I always assume that a work pod is an escape vehicle. An engineer working down in his area will run to the work pod just a few meters away rather than go to an escape pod that might be 1 deck away. Just having all his tools (the work pod) with him in an emergency will have great appeal. I wouldn't think that a work pod would be able to land on a planet like a life pod but its one more vehicle for getting people off ship if the ships destruction is imminent. I'm sure that its already been planned for as a contingency with Space Fleet at least but not so much in civilian service because the work pod cant land. Space Fleet, likely expects to be able to take an engineer off of the work pod before it would need to land on a planet. Provision might have been made for them to dock with a lifeboat- identical mating colars. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
May 22, 2014 - 5:20am | Primarily a work pod is a work pod. Of course that is like saying a car is a car. I would think that there are different models with different features and equipment and upgrades and even ones for special purposes such as one work pod for hull maintenance and another for engine maintenance. Of course the length of time that the work pods can work without recharge/refuel/refill would vary and some of them could also be used for emergency escape pods. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 May 22, 2014 - 7:01am | And the designers were thinking of the workpod as a way to escape a dying ship as there explicit rules covering survival from a ship with engines about to explode and they call out an increased chance of survival if you're in a workpod (KH Campaign Book, p 37). That said, I still don't see them having any "survival" type equipment, just the tools of the trade as dmoffet describes. Any additional suvival type supplies would be something the ship owner added in after the fact, not part of the standard equipment. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 May 22, 2014 - 8:46am | Could a work pod land on a planet like a Soyuz capsule? The ball can take the heat but the arms, tool cage, etc would burn away. A parachute would deploy for landing. -iggy |
May 22, 2014 - 10:47am | Could a work pod land on a planet like a Soyuz capsule? The ball can take the heat but the arms, tool cage, etc would burn away. A parachute would deploy for landing. Perhaps the tool arms would jettison and a chute would deploy. Note: in this case the chute and its cordage become emergency/survival equipment by default. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
