Re: Transports (was: Tugs & Firing Arcs)

In a message dated 11/12/99 7:36:26 AM Central Standard Time, 
Brian_Bell@dscc.dla.mil writes:

<< Another question:
   Having looked at the models for transport in the GZG Starship line, I
 noticed that most of the freighters were not streamlined. How do they
get
 the containers down to the planet? Not a small task the way atmospheric
 entry rules are written for non-streamlined craft. Also, I do not think
that
 most transports would want to pay the additional cost for atmospheric
 streamlining (ouch!). 
   On large, well established worlds, it should not present a problem.
They
 probably have Space stations that would warehouse the containers until
 transport to the surface could be arranged. Perhaps some worlds have
 beanstalks to transport goods to the surface.
   The small colonies (Jim-Bob's Landing) present a greater problem
(Think of
 the colony in the movie Aliens). Does every colony have the ability to
 support a space craft to reach orbit? Maybe (but it sounds expensive). 
 If they do, it would need to be streamlined. The cargo would need to be
 moved to the shuttle. This could be in smaller containers or by placing
the
 entire cargo container in a bay internal to the shuttle (as the cargo
 containers are not streamlined). The shuttle would then take them to
the
 surface. If the whole container was transported to the surface, its
contents
 would need to be sorted and re-packed. Then sent back to the transport
in
 orbit (2 trips for the shuttle).
 If the colonists cannot support a shuttle, the transport would need to
be
 able to get to the surface. 
 Dropping the containers from orbit would be too great of a waste (and
would
 be hard on the merchandise). And, most likely, transports would load
the
 containers with supplies for more than one destination or have smaller
 containers. 
 
 Thoughts, ideas? >>

If you look at modern transport, you can easily come up with a far
future 
system. Freight lines will send their big container ships on the major
runs, 
where competition and volume demand peak efficiency. These runs will be
the 
ones betwen large trading worlds, major import/export ports. The big
ships 
will use the orbital ports to unload their containers, swapping them out
for 
others already filled for their next port of call. the containers
themselves 
will either be shipped on to their destination, or emptied and their
cargo 
broken down into smaller lots to be shipped to their specific
destinations. 
Smaller ships, will handle this, taking the now palletized remnents to
the 
lesser planets. Backwaters will be serviced by streamlined free traders,
able 
to land on the planets that don't have the infrastructure to handle the
big 
boys.

You can find a pretty good possible explanation of interstellar freight 
handling techniques in GURPS:Traveller, Far Trader. It has a lot of
material 
specific to it's own universe, but nothing that couldn't be adapted for
use 
in FT.

John
JohnDHamill@aol.com