Spaceshippy type questions

[Vertigo]

Some SciFi authors even have spaceships (very large ones) that have elevators that are not confined to simple vertical shafts but rather are more like some sort of enclosed tram system taking you anywhere within the ship.

Edit: sorry about the double post but the first one didn't appear to have worked (didn't appear on refresh)

 

[Mouse]

I didn't even think of stairs! It still weirds me out if I see stairs in an airplane in films!

Thanks, Vertigo, that's interesting!

 

[Ursa major]

If it's any help, my larger ships have lifts and internal shuttles, and also variable artificial gravity, so those on board can get a slight sense of where they are by how heavy they feel.



(I mention gravity, because if there is none, stairs - as we know them, Jim - are not that useful.)

 

[Mouse]

I'm going to use a lift, I think! I need to get the captain down to the hangar.

Is the hangar and cargo bay the same thing?

 

[goldhawk]

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

Yes, but...

Elevator shafts in buildings are positively ventilated to keep smoke from a fire from entering them (same with stairwells). That means they blow air in from the outside. In a spaceship, there is no air outside and though it may be possible to keep them at a higher pressure than the rest of the ship. (See my previous post about airlocks).

Having long shafts, passageways, stairwells, air ducts, and plumbing that connect to many compartments defeats their purpose to compartmentize the ship. Accidents that pierces them could cause loses all over the ship.

 

[Ursa major]

Is the hangar and cargo bay the same thing?

In Star Trek, cargo bays are holds. Being Star Trek, loading and unloading is performed by the use of (matter) transporters, either located in the bay or general purpose ones.

Where transporters are unavailable, as in most other scifi series (and goodness only knows how many SF books/stories), the cargo bays would have to either be accessible from the general hangar/airlocks and/or have their own access to the outside.

 

[Mouse]

Yes, but...

Elevator shafts in buildings are positively ventilated to keep smoke from a fire from entering them (same with stairwells). That means they blow air in from the outside. In a spaceship, there is no air outside and though it may be possible to keep them at a higher pressure than the rest of the ship. (See my previous post about airlocks).

Having long shafts, passageways, stairwells, air ducts, and plumbing that connect to many compartments defeats their purpose to compartmentize the ship. Accidents that pierces them could cause loses all over the ship.

Ta muchly!

In Star Trek, cargo bays are holds. Being Star Trek, loading and unloading is performed by the use of (matter) transporters, either located in the bay or general purpose ones.

Where transporters are unavailable, as in most other scifi series (and goodness only knows how many SF books/stories), the cargo bays would have to either be accessible from the general hangar/airlocks and/or have their own access to the outside.

I just need the captain to go and inspect some 'goods' which have just arrived on another smaller ship. So she'd go to the cargo bay? And would this smaller ship be in the cargo bay or in the hangar? (Thank you, Ursa!)

 

[Ursa major]

Having long shafts, passageways, stairwells, air ducts, and plumbing that connect to many compartments defeats their purpose to compartmentize the ship. Accidents that pierces them could cause loses all over the ship.

True, but I don't think we're talking about lifts and elevators as we find them here on Earth: cable-operated in single, barrier-free tubes. (The Star trek lifts travel both "vertically" and "horizontally", for instance.) The absence of long cables means that the tubes can be divided into sections, access to which is automatically opened** as the car/gondola approaches.



** - Where conditions permit this to be done in a safe way. (I expect Star Trek plays its usual card of having force fields in the tubes rather than physical barriers.)

 

[Vladd67]

Where transporters are unavailable, as in most other scifi series (and goodness only knows how many SF books/stories), the cargo bays would have to either be accessible from the general hangar/airlocks and/or have their own access to the outside.

Just look at Serenity in Firefly, it is basically one large cargo bay with an airlock, and bolted onto the cargo bay are the living quarters the bridge and an engine room, all be it one with a very cute engineer.

 

[Ursa major]

Of that universe, I've only seen the film, Serenity. (And I can't recall much about the ship, to be honest.)

 

[Mouse]

I'm picturing Serenity in my head a lot, Vladd, when I'm writing. But my ship is bigger and... cleaner?! (Not cos of the mopping!) than Serenity.

(Clinical, I think. Not cleaner.)

 

[Vladd67]

Well they carried everything from medical supplies to cattle so it would look a little tatty I guess.

 

[J Riff]

I think in the future they will use some kind of power-mop. A vacuum mop, they already have them, and wouldn't robots do the cleaning?

 

[Vladd67]

What do they use on the ISS?

 

[goldhawk]

True, but I don't think we're talking about lifts and elevators as we find them here on Earth: cable-operated in single, barrier-free tubes. (The Star trek lifts travel both "vertically" and "horizontally", for instance.) The absence of long cables means that the tubes can be divided into sections, access to which is automatically opened** as the car/gondola approaches.

The problem with force fields:

1. "No matter how shiny the force-field is, keep your helmet on until the airlock is closed."

2. "Exhibit A of why depending on a force-field jail cell is a bad idea."

 

[Ursa major]

I must admit that I don't like the force fields on Starfleet vessels; they're too much of a get-out-of-jail-free device.

(It's a shame they don't have them round the instrument panels: it would prevent all those pesky sparks being sprayed around the bridge when entirely separate parts of the ship are hit by enemy fire.)

 

[J Riff]

Just imagine the improvements in mop technology in the next few centuries.

 

[Vladd67]

Who ever corners the spaceship market will really clean up.

 

[Dave]

What do they use on the ISS?

Most house dust is dead skin cells. Outside it comes from traffic exhaust and blown sand/earth. Considering that spacemen wear suits and that the environment is sealed, my guess is that an air filter is all that is required to prevent any dusting at all.

They can't spill things since it floats around rather than falling and making a mess on the floor. Food is in sealed packets, and going to the toilet is very complicated.

 

[J-WO]

I've probably arrived to this too late and too pedantic, but I've just thought of another kind of Advisor on a ship. A Commissar. In the more tyrannical space-faring cultures, a political officer might be sent along to make sure the always Captain does the right thing and doesn't muck about.

The only example I can think of is Hunt for Red October, but I'm surprised the Klingons or, better still, Cardassians didn't have them on board.