Re: Modular Freighters (was Re: FB - Thrust Ratings for Freighters)

>i was wondering about containerisation in the context of interstellar
>trade. specifically, since there will be a larger volume of stuff to be
>shipped around than now, and since it is probably going to fewer places
>(there must be hundreds of major ports in the world), it would make
sense
>to use bigger containers.

This does not necessarily follow.  A container should be the right size
for
convenient transport to the end destination.  In the case of modern
cargo,
this may mean you have a ship carrying truck trailers.	The ship could
carry
more stuff if it weren't containerized, but it's faster just to pull up
to
the dock and transfer trailers from the ship to a railcar and go.  You
wouldn't believe what a cargo ship pays in port charges--they have a
real
incentive to speed things up.

In the case of starships, you have to have it fit the ship, the
interface
lander, and the surface transportation to get to the end user. You also
need
a container which you have a reasonable likelihood of filling, as
there's no
point in building a 2000 ton box if nobody needs to ship more than 200
tons
at a time.

I think you were thinking of smaller containers being put into a large
lattice, but why bother with what amounts to repackaging them?