Spaceshippy type questions

[Mouse]

If the floors are being mopped, then you obviously have artificial gravity, but it's feasible. Certainly in an area where any loose object could become a lethal weapon or dust a choking cloud in the event of gravity failure means that keeping the corridors clean'd be a neverending task.

Brill. Thank you!

 

[chrispenycate]

All right. What have you told me? Firstly, that there is gravity or some simulation of same, You don't have a "floor" if there's no defined up and down. You can walk around, not fly along the access tubes (well, calling them 'corridors' had already suggested this) Secondly, that there's quite a lot of it, because in microgravity a mop bucket just wouldn't work. Then, if you've got someone you can give a task like that to, you've got a big ship, with lots of specialities. A smaller one, and that would be only a tiny fraction of a crewperson's total duties.

Then lifesupport; which is already pulling the moisture from all the crew's exhalations can take up the extra of the evaporating mop water. So it has extra capacity, over and above the direct needs, which suggests showers, and laundry and such; luxurious. Whereas a vacuum cleaner wouldn't have precluded the toilet facilities, it would have been much less wasteful.

But it wouldn't have cleaned off spills and food stains, the only real advantage of a mop. So they're trying to keep the ship looking neat, at some considerable cost in energy efficiency, indicating a very strict captain or a large supply of excess energy.

You'd wondered why you needed a Chrispy, hadn't you?

 

[Mouse]

Thankies! So um... that's a yes on the mop?

 

[Dave]

2. Can the captain have an advisor?

Well, Steam Trains and Steam Ships have Engineers.

The interesting thing is that that when Sail Ships gave way to Steam Ships, at first the Engineers were not Naval Officers. This obviously lead to some friction between the Naval Lieutenants and the Engineers, who I expect were of a lower class, dirty and uncouth, but well paid. The Engineers were however, vitally important - more important than the Lieutenants - steamships easily outclassing sail. I was reading about this aboard HMS Warrior at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Depending on the method of locomotion of your ship, you could have a similar problem between advisors and officers. In the TV show Andromeda the ship has a Avatar that the Captain can talk to. Depending on the mission, your Captain may need a specialist in science, diplomatic relations, anthropology, or a Marine Commander.

Since Star Ships are still fictional, I'd read up on some Naval history for ideas rather than copy other science fiction books and shows.

If you were on a voyage of exploration you could have a Charles Darwin-like naturalist aboard.

 

[Vertigo]

Is it a military or merchant vessel.

In a merchant vessel the second in command is generally referred to a the First Officer. In a military ship then they are generally refered to as the Executive officer. This is always the case in the Navy sometimes used in the Air Force never in the army. In the US forces Executive Officer or XO is used in all branches to refer to the second in command. Most military Sci Fi tend to have XOs.

In the units of many military forces, the Executive Officer (XO) is the second-in-command, reporting to the commanding officer (CO).

United Kingdom
The term is not used in the British Army or Royal Marines (RM), in which the designation Second-in-Command (2i/c) is used as a formal appointment. In the Royal Air Force (RAF), the term is informally used between officers and airmen, referring to the officer who is second-in-command. It is formally used in the Royal Navy (RN), however. In smaller vessels, such as submarines and frigates, the Executive Officer also holds the position of First Lieutenant. Originally, the Second-in-Command was usually referred to as First Lieutenant (or as "Number One"), although it is becoming more common to hear the term XO. On larger ships, in which the XO holds the rank of Commander, the XO is usually referred to simply as "the Commander". The XO heads the executive department.

Also if it is a military vessel you would be likely to have a bunch of other posts such as Weapons Officer, Tactical Officer etc.

 

[chrispenycate]

Yes, if the ship is big enough, and – excessive enough, you can keep the mop. Though it'll have to be as big as Kensington before I'll let you have a crew member whose only task is mopping.

A bit smaller you're down on hands and knees with a damp dishcloth.

And isn't the first mate likely to advise the captain, as well as fill in for him while he's asleep, or performing his ablutions?

And the captain of a maritime vessel is, even now, an authority "under god" when outside territorial waters; he can choose to follow the instructions radioed to him, but his is the responsibility. It's unlikely, in today's information rich world, that he would order an execution, but I don't think the power was ever revoked, and anyone refusing an order is guilty of mutiny, a hanging offence…

 

[The Judge]

anyone refusing an order is guilty of mutiny, a hanging offence…

Can't string no one up from the yard arm nowadays, not since 1998, at least not in England and Wales or within the jurisdiction. Piracy on the high seas no longer carries the real suspended sentence either.

 

[chrispenycate]

Ah, there you are. all the glorious traditions fade.

Not that I think there were many captains who would have taken advantage of it (only partly due to the notable lack of yard arms).

But with voyages once again lasting years, and limited contact with home, and no hope of replacing supplies, who knows what laws might be reinstated?

 

[goldhawk]

1. What's the place called where smaller ships dock? And that whole area leading to it? (I'm calling it a corridor. So far my ship has too many corridors!)

You could call it the boarding ramp.

2. Can the captain have an advisor?

Yes, Kirk had McCoy and Picard had Crusher and Troi. Having an officer who is not a line officer as an advisor occurs so often that it's almost a cliché. (Crusher was a line officer but Troi was not, at least not in the beginning.)

3. Apart from techs and cleaners, who else works on a spaceship?

Stewards. Enlisted men and women who cook the meals, clean the ship, do the laundry, and basically keep order.

4. What are those round slidey doors called?

Airlocks. Spaceships would be divided into sections with airlocks between them. Standard air pressure is 14.696 psi. If your hatches are small, say 2 feet by 3 feet, they cover 864 square inches. A pressure difference of 1 psi would mean there's 864 pounds of pressure holding the hatch close. You would need at least 4 strong men to open it and aid those trapped inside. Bigger hatches would require more men.

Oh, and if someone gets trapped in an air-tight compartment without life support, they would not die from lack of oxygen. The CO2 would kill them first.

 

[gadgetmind]

I don't get too hung up over names as search and replace can fix this very quickly. I tend to put in some CamelCase placeholder that will be unique and then await inspiration.
Ian

 

[Rosemary]

I think you are very brave to write a story about Science Fiction, Mouse!

That's one of the things that has always put me off, if the technical terms for all the areas of a Space Craft. At least you are willing to have a go!

So well done, and keep at it!

 

[Mouse]

Thanks, Rosie! Luckily it's only a short story (going to be around 4k words I reckon) so I don't have to keep it up for a whole novel!

I might manage to be sneaky and avoid having to go too technical.

Thanks all for your help! Much appreciated. As usual, you lot are fantastic!

 

[Ursa major]

I should have mentioned this earlier: spacechippies don't take off from Cape Canaveral, but have to use Cape Cod....

 

[Mouse]

I should have mentioned this earlier: spacechippies don't take off from Cape Canaveral, but have to use Cape Cod....

Ha!

 

[Vertigo]

You know I read it first time as space hippies Not quite sure what that says about me!

 

[Ursa major]

You want to be in the van of space exploration...?

 

[Vertigo]

So long as it's a big, old, falling to pieces sort of spaceship painted in lots of swirly, multicoloured patterns. Preferable with a VW badge on the front!

 

[Mouse]

I have another question! (Sorry!) Can you have lifts/elevators in a spaceship?

 

[Ursa major]

In larger ones, yes. In smaller ones there may be little need or little space for one.


There'll still have to be stairs...





....if only to provide a location for the understairs cupboard in which to store mops and buckets and (where a different sort of hygiene is enforced) the dishcloths used to wipe the floors.

 

[Vertigo]

Many Sci Fi novels even have spaceships (very large ones) that have elevators that are not confined to simple up and down shafts but are more like some sort of enclosed tram system taking you anywhere on the ship.