quote: I just don't feel that impulse engines, antigrav landing systems and such would be viable technologies for an evacuation vehicle. I mean, an ejection seat does not have a jet engine, a pair of wings, and a tricycle landing gear, even though its "mothership" does, and the seat itself theoretically could. Instead, it has less service-intensive, more reliable and affordable alternatives: a rocket, a parachute, and the pilot's own two (hopefully!) feet.
Like I said, no landing gear and an ejection seat doesn't have to clear the blast radius of a warp core explosion (several thousand miles I presume) in less than a minute. Besides I intentionally made the engines here to be very distinct from other impulse configurations we've seen. I think of them as high acceleration impulse thrusters which are self contained units that only have a small fuel cell with enough fuel for 5 minutes worth of flight (sort of like the Lunar Lander) just enough to escape the mother ship plus some extra for a possible landing. You could compare them to the small rocket motors that are used (I think) to propel ejection seats, like the impulse thrusters they're smaller and much simpler, one use versions of their bigger cousins.
quote: Furthermore, if you can afford to make an evacuation pod that in practice is a shuttlecraft, then it certainly makes no sense to carry shuttlecraft. An evacuation pod should be something the ship is *ashamed* to even possess, something that should never see use. You don't install your latest supertech on something that you hope to be useless.
As I described above this is by no means as capable as a shuttlecraft, it's size and shape is determined by necessity. In regards to the level of technology, I'm sure Starfleet would want to give it's crews every possible advantage to survive a major disaster and I'm sure any crew members who do so in one of these things would be grateful that their ship did indeed carry life pods. I should also mention that depending on the shuttlebay(s) for evacuations is not a safe option for some of the ships we've seen. To use the Constitution-Class as an example, the idea that you can quickly evacuate a crew of several hundred through a relatively small facility in a handful of shuttles is ludicrous. It would be especially disaterous if the turbolift system went down and you have half the crew stuck in the sauser section and forward engineering hull.
quote: Basically, I feel era-specific escape pods are impossible anyway. This technology should be so rugged that it was perfected in the early 21st century already, and will not change for the next thousand years - much as is the case with lifeboats at sea.
Perhaps this should be the case, but it isn't since we know that starfleet uses several different designs of escape pods by the 24th century. If the take the TNG tech manual as anything close to cannon then we know that the ASRVs are only a few decades old and seam to have been already replaced by newer models.
quote: I hope you don't mind my hijacking this thread, but I have my own interpretation of a TOS era lifeboat. You got my mind working on this and not on what I was supposed to be doing at work! I originally did this in Powerpoint, and just redid it in CorelDRAW when I got home. My version is more of a blend of the travel pod and the Galileo type shuttle. However, I couldn't decide between the "standard" paint job and the present day-glow orange, so I did both:
The day glow orange colouring is quite pointless on a space based escape pod, given that any rescue ship will detect a pod on sensors long before making visual contact.
quote: My argument was more on the lines that if you build lifeboats that are like launches, then you either are breaking some rules of common sense, or have an infinite budget. In either case, launches and lifeboats then become redundant as separate concepts, and should be considered "lifelaunches" instead.
Looking at the sheer size of Spacedock One, I'd vote for the "infinite budget" option. (not to mention the tens of thousands of Starships, the hundreds of starbases and the potential millions of shuttlecraft and other auxiliary craft)
quote: Just a question about lifeboats/escape pods. If you're in them for several days/weeks a la "Year of Hell" - what do you do about ablutions?? "Can everyone just move 10 cm to port - I've REALLY gotta go!"
If you're asking if the pod should have a Head then the answer is yes, most defiantly. However the privacy of such facilities would be limited by how long everyone else can stare at a bulkhead while you do your business since said facilities are probably located under one of the passenger seats. As for other hygiene concerns; well it isn't exactly a 5-star hotel now is it? I imagine that things could get pretty ripe in one of these things after a few weeks of eating stale rations and drinking urine-recyc.
Here's a quick stab at a TOS era lifeboat. I took the general shape of the shuttlecraft, tossed the nacelles, and made the "wing" an airfoil with heat/shield type bottom (like a space shuttle), complete with an aerodynamic cross-section (unlike the "brick" wings usually seen). I also put air-brake/rudder panels on the sides and elevons on the wing trailing edges, so a pilot could guide the thing manually to a landing without engines.
Naturally, a lot more could be done to it. I did an isometric view because I think you get a better sense of the actual shape of a design than with elevation views.
One thing I wanted to illustrate here is that the "boxy" nature of the shuttlecraft isn't quite an extreme as some think. Most people forget about the "rolled" top edges and the fact that the sides actually have a bend in them. Also, the roof slopes down towards the back.
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I always look at these kinds of design exercises from a component point of view. I itemize the minimum necessary components and put the the most functional (but coolest looking) package. What ya need: 1. Door from ship to pod 2. Docking collar (may be the same as 1). 3. Thruster pack for getting away from ship 4. Maneuvering/re-entry thrusters 5. Possible impulse drive? 6. Re-entry shielding (might double as anti-blast shielding 7. Communications equipment/antennae/beacons 8. Food/water (facilities for both in and out) 9. Couches (that can handle high accel) 10. Artificial Grav? 11. Pilot's station 12. Parachute? 13. A door to get out after landing (might be same as 1 and 2)
I see sort of a flat Apollo style capsule in which the passengers lie in couches around the wall with their feet toward the center. The base would have the thruster pack and a heat shield.
Mr. Neutron's design would make a nice advanced shuttle!
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One beacon on top of the pod, a portable comm unit is amoung the emergency equipment along with a dozen or so short range comunicators (in case you need to scout around after making planet fall).
quote: 8. Food/water (facilities for both in and out)
There's a waste extractor under one of the seats, which is linked to a purifier so that (along with a condenser) body moisture can be recycled to extend the water rations. Water packs and food rations are stored in the overhead compartments.
quote: 9. Couches (that can handle high accel)
Yup. Not to mention an IDF generator.
quote: 10. Artificial Grav?
One grav plate installed beneath the decking, but can be deactivated to conserve power since the pod's interior is designed with webbing and hand grips in the walls for navigating in Zero-G.
quote: 11. Pilot's station
Yup, it's right behind the window, squashed as far out of the way as possible without compromising the pilot's abiliy to fly.
quote: 12. Parachute?
As a backup to the grav thrusters sure, the logical place for it would be in the nose I belive. Perhaps there could also be some inflatable boyancy baloons hidden around the docking ring too?
quote: 13. A door to get out after landing (might be same as 1 and 2)
The entry door is at the back and the escape hatch is on top.
quote: I see sort of a flat Apollo style capsule in which the passengers lie in couches around the wall with their feet toward the center. The base would have the thruster pack and a heat shield.
That was my first idea too, but I had already used that design on the Charybdis.
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