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   rec.arts.sf.science      Real and speculative aspects of SF scien      45,986 messages   

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   Message 45,648 of 45,986   
   David Ellis to All   
   Community Brainstorming: Damage Control    
   29 May 19 10:02:15   
   
   From: daellis94@gmail.com   
      
   So, here's something I can turn to you folks for some help with.     
      
   I'm coming up with a science fictional battleship for space warfare, propelled   
   by a cluster of four field-reversed configuration, helium-3/deuterium fusion   
   rockets, with a full wet mass of roughly 35,000 tonnes, dry mass of 14,000   
   tonnes, and a total    
   complement of 62 officers and enlisted crewmen, plus additional space to   
   accommodate a small number of passengers such as VIPs or rescued personnel,   
   etc.    
      
   For a sense of size, the overall length of the hull is roughly 210 meters, and   
   the width is 60 meters around the main reaction mass tanks, slimming down to   
   about 30ish meters along the forward half/two thirds of the hull.     
      
   What I'm trying to sort out is how damage control might be taken care of on   
   board this vessel.     
      
   The pressurized crew section would, of course, occupy only a relatively small   
   portion of the vessel's internal volume.  Any other compartments outside of   
   this pressure hull would either be totally unpressurized or would contain   
   compressed fluid or    
   reaction mass.     
      
   Damage control on a modern warship is comparatively straightforward; damage   
   control parties would have little trouble moving to most necessary areas of a   
   ship on foot.  Most internal spaces take the form of some type of room.     
      
   My battleship, however, is much more like a large vessel packed full mostly   
   with automated machinery, and the crew is mostly there to serve as a kind of   
   mission control.     
      
   Now, I imagine damage control teams would have to work either in space suits   
   or piloted piloted pods.  Alternatively, they could largely operate by way of   
   remotely-manned robots.  I imagine space suits would be the most "sleek"   
   option, allowing    
   individual crewmen to pass through tighter channels compared to larger piloted   
   pods. However, because space suits use low pressure atmospheres, crewmen would   
   need to spend at least an hour acclimating to low pressure conditions, and   
   that might not be    
   practical in a combat situation.     
      
   Any ideas?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)   

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