Thread: Asteroid Driver
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Old 01-10-2021, 08:21 PM
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Damraska Damraska is offline
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As usual, I keep rethinking my design. :/



While this may not look much different than the original, it actually contains many improvements and new details.

The ram was redesigned so that, internally, the scoop has enough space to turn the particle flow back upon itself while decelerating it. I also redrew the scoop based on things I learned about Blender, making it easier to convert the blueprints into a three dimensional model.

The cargo containers remain in the same place but the neck became thicker. This means each cargo container now nestles into a rectangular recess, better holding it in place. The neck also gains a great deal of structural strength from the added thickness.

Eight, one hundred foot solar panels will now fold up into the spaces between the cargo containers, giving the asteroid driver electrical generation capacity equivalent to that of the international space station, before adjusting for improvements in solar electric technology. These exist for emergencies and to recharge batteries that can themselves start a tokamak.

The plate at the front of the crew compartment is now armored. If a cargo container breaks free under thrust, it will strike that armor and roll off into space.

The tokamaks were moved forward so they sit directly behind the crew compartment. The tokamak service corridor was moved to sit between the tokamaks. This arrangement makes servicing the engines much easier and the ship looks better, too.

The fuel tanks were moved aft of everything else. In this way, if one breaks free under thrust, it will simply fall away from the ship, not crash into the tokamaks. A ramp at the very end of each fuel tank grab facilitates this and ensures that a break-away fuel tank does not damage the rocket motors.

Four gantries now run the length of the ship. These extend outward exactly as much as the docking collars. These serve two purposes. First, they allow a crew member to space walk outside the ship from the ram to the tokamaks in an enclosed and safe manner. Second, they allow a second asteroid driver to dock such that the entire frame of both vessels is connected. This means any number of asteroid drivers can dock, becoming a single, massive, super driver.

Anyway, I think I have all the major systems worked out now. Tomorrow, I will redraw the core vessel in Blender and unfold it. Then, the really tedious part can begin.

Last edited by Damraska; 01-10-2021 at 08:24 PM. Reason: I be stupids.
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