Nyrath

Re: Your Top Ten Science Fiction Writers, and then some. Piper's SPACE VIKING and THE COSMIC COMPUTER (aka JUNKYARD PLANET) would make outstanding Star Hero campaigns

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible?

Re: Fiction resources for Solar HERO.

Re: Orion Drive space battleship You might have noticed that there is a shortage of clean energy on planet Earth. A series of space based solar power stations could be the solution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power#Dealing_with_launch_costs A single 4 gigawatt SPS would require about 80,000 metric tons to be boosted into orbit. The super Orion could send up 100 of these in one launch. Since each 4 GW SPS is the output of a largish nuclear reactor, one would need lots of SPS to meet the power needs of the planet.

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible? Used to have yeast vats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trantor#Food_production

Re: Orion Drive space battleship Well, the basic problem is that using chemical rockets as heavy lift vehicles makes as much sense as filling a public swimming pool with an eyedropper. Chemical rockets are far too weak. http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3ay.html The biggest chemical booster contemplated is Sea Dragon, which can lift 550 metric tons. A nuclear gas core booster could boost 1,000 metric tons. A nuclear planetary Orion could boost 3,000 metric tons. And a super Orion could boost 8,000,000 metric tons. Better solutions are much more expensive, space elevators and related items. They need lots of infrastructure, and will take a long time to construct. A basic space elevator could lift 2,000 metric tons/year. An advanced space elevator could lift 6,000 metric tons/year. A small Lofstrom loop could lift 40,000 metric tons/year. A Bifrost Bridge laser launcher could lift 175,200 metric tons/year. And a large Lofstrom loop could lift 6,000,000 metric tons/year. Of course, space elevators and Lofstrom loops are pathetically vulnerable to terrorist attack.

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible?

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible? True. If one wants a sense of scale about a galactic empire go here http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3ac.html#terminology and scroll down to "From "Galactic Empires" by Dr. Robert A. Freitas Jr." It notes that to the Galactic Emperor, planetary governors are "the rabble."

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible? Depends on the assumptions. In Niven and Pournelle's THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE, the circumstances are such that feeding even a small colony using food transport starships is flatly impossible. But this assumes that there are only a few thousand starships in all of human space. In the Foundation trilogy, the galactic empire actually encompasses the entire galaxy (instead of just a segment as does the Star Wars empire). The Trantorian empire could easily support several trillion starships just to feed Trantor. IIRC Trantor had 20 agricultural worlds nearby whose entire output went to Trantor.

Re: Fiction resources for Solar HERO.

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible? Oh, I misunderstood you. I thought you were implying that Lucas was NOT influenced by Dune. My mistake.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/01/asteroid-and-comet-bombardment-melted-one-of-jupiters-moons.ars Or billions of years ago, the inhabitants of Ganymede had a private little nuclear war. Or maybe they were bombarded into oblivion by hostile extrasolar aliens. In both cases, deep drilling expeditions would find lots of useful paleotechnology....

Re: Fiction resources for Solar HERO. Seconded. Lots of good material there. I'd also add Alexis A. Gilliland's Rosinante series http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?4365

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible? Well, there are quite a few desert planets in SF stories and novels. But I cannot recall any 100% city encrusted planets except for Trantor.

Re: Orion Drive space battleship

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible? More to the point, the concept of Coruscant as single city encompassing the entire planet was .... borrowed ... from Trantor. This is because Isaac Asimov first wrote about Trantor in 1942. Anybody who wants to do a decline and fall of the Galactic Empire campaign owes it to themselves to read the Foundation Trilogy.

Re: Orion Drive space battleship

Re: Orion Drive space battleship I've read that the amount of fallout can be reduced by a factor of 10 by using thermonuclear fusion charges instead of fission charges. In addition, the fallout can be reduced by a further factor of ten if the spacecraft is launched near the north or south magnetic poles. This prevents the Earth's magnetosphere from capturing the fallout and returning it to the surface.

Re: 1962 Nuke Test jeopardized Apollo program

Re: Orion Drive space battleship The Orion Battleship has landing boats http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=5167 Somebody noted that they reminded them of the landing boats featured in the Niven and Pournelle's novel THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE. Which you really should read if you are into space opera.

Re: Orion Drive space battleship More details here: http://www.up-ship.com/apr/extras/scruiser1.htm

Re: Lockheed Martin HULC Exoskeleton Personally, I'm holding out for a suit of powered armor, like they had in the novel STARSHIP TROOPERS. The novel, NOT the movie. They were nowhere near as refined as Tony Stark's Iron Man armor, but much closer to something you'd mass produce to outfit your troops with.

Re: Are single climate/habitat worlds really possible?

Re: Orion Drive space battleship

Re: Lockheed Martin HULC Exoskeleton Iron Man, here we come.