'City of Fresno' snippet: 'City-Class' Star-ships...

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

Between a bunch of 'Real Life' stuff, such as wonky walls, weary taps and trippin' electrics, I'm working on several tales.

WIRS#9 is making slow progress, but I need to tidy logic and continuity of yet-another crucial scene before I dare continue.

'Chaparral' has spawned a much longer sequel, 'City of Fresno'. I've resolved the 'Boron Question' --Don't ask !!-- but, a dozen chapters in, I still feel tale is 'insufficiently baked' to begin posting chapters.

However, from time to time, people have asked me about the Convention's 'City-Class' star-ships. Here you go...
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'City-Class' star-ships are very modular, may be readily shortened or extended at need.

Bow and stern have wide, lenticular debris shields supported by a web of framing and three splayed truss-girders, each a hundred metres length. Think big 'beach shelter'.

A shallow hexagonal box, a hundred metres across the flats, forms the core of each inter-stage 'flange'. From each, three well-braced 150 metre 'legs' with docking ports and module mounts spread starfish-style.

100 metre truss spine sections attach fore-and-aft to each 'flange' at the base of each 'leg'. These may be decoupled at need.

A basic 50x100 metre module, variously hab, 'spin', cargo, hangar or tankage, fits lengthwise between these spines, clamped to their 'flange' at each end. Two such modules or a 100x100 metre spin-drum may likewise clamp lengthwise between pairs of 'legs' like 'saddle-tanks'. Again, these may be decoupled at need.

Ships usually have three, four or five 'accommodation' stages ahead of the bulging central 'Power Section', whose arcane 'Field Poles' craft the 'Alcubierre Double Bubble' needed for FTL. As many stages with tankage run back to the stern's 'Engine Room' and its vast fusors. Although those 'burn' aneutronic Deuterium and Helium-Three, would 'fail safe', the possibility of a 'back-fire' with a scary 'sneeze' of neutrinos, neutrons and/or gammas means wary isolation is preferred...

'City Class' ships on 'Primary' routes are routinely refitted with upgraded 'Power Sections' and 'Engine Rooms'. If not rebuilt to the latest version, those removed may be refurbished as the core of 'Second Tier' ships, serving minor routes or as dedicated freight haulers.

'Flanges' can be close-coupled, so a spare 'Power Section', 'Engine Room', indeed anything with that triple-spinal load pass-through such as a prefabricated refinery or mineral processing plant, may be ferried, along with spare habs, 'flanges' and/or bundled truss spine sections. Though ungainly, even debris shields may be ferried, edge-on, using custom adaptors...

In extremis, a complete ship could be assembled, flown off in less than a week.

More relevant to Fresno's situation, a range of simple toroidal space stations could be rapidly assembled. Though the most basic only had a rock-tug's or crew-type hab's spin drum, there were better options.

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

One advantage of 'worrying' a potential blooper is that another may crawl out from beneath proverbial rock and cackle, "Nyah ! Nyah !! Missed me !!"

No, just took a little longer to spot but, NAILED.

( Even with Google'd 'solvers', figuring acceptable 'artificial gravity' in rotating habitats makes my head spin... )

[Nathan45]

Well done