Questions tagged [spaceships]
For questions involving implemented theory or technology for travelling through space. Consider also [space-travel]. See also the tag information (click "info") for more details on when this tag applies.
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Advantages of centaurs in space [closed]
Based off of my previous question What animal would make the best centaur?
What advantages could using ape centaurs in space have over humans or incredibly smart chimps?
Some that I can think of are ...
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Point defense weapons on bio-mechanical spacecraft that part of von Neumann machine horde
I am currently working on a concept for a science fiction novel about interstellar warfare in the 24th century.
I am wondering about the best point defense weapons for biomechanical space combat ships ...
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Exploring the Feasibility of Laser-Based Ram Scoops Powered by Micro Black Holes [closed]
Ram scoop ships are a well-loved element of hard science fiction, typically employing magnetic fields to harvest interstellar gas. However, this concept often grapples with practical issues like drag ...
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Why are worldships not shaped like worlds?
For the purposes of this question, let's say that a "worldship" is a starship (constructed by a civilization in the process of moving from K2 to K3, in my case) that is so large that it ...
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How would artificial gravity panels affect spaceship design? [closed]
Assuming these are panels that can be plastered anywhere that would be convenient, how would spaceship design change?
Would every wall be covered with them so it's all effectively floor space?
Would ...
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Is it possible to relocate a planet? Specifically Jupiter [duplicate]
My world, Anyare, has too many people on it. Instead of having a disaster, I want them to colonize another planet. Like Jupiter. By using Jupiter’s gases, and by attaching a giant propeller, is it ...
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What information should be displayed on realistic & intuitive tactical sensor screens for space warfare?
I've thought about space warfare and seen how sensor information has been displayed in various Science Fiction franchises and been left disappointed.
For our future space forces we need screens which (...
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Is it viable to broadcast a signal and be detected within starsystem distance?
Is it viable to broadcast a radio/EM distress signal from a space vessel that can be detected within a star system?
Think of an unexpected distress signal i.e. the receiving apparatus
shouldn't ...
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Stealth on Titan (ground vehicles against satellites)
Titan is a shrouded moon, cloaked in a dense haze that obscures its surface to direct visual observation. Cassini, when it visited, had to rely on radar and near infrared imaging to see the surface [...
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Using a planetary flyby to reduce speed
At the end of my novel, the surviving crew of a spaceship is hurtling past a Dyson swarm that encloses the sun where the asteroid belt used to be. They are traveling too fast for orbital insertion and ...
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Would the discovery of a room temperature superconductor with a high critical current improve ion drives?
I'm just an optimistic, uneducated bum, so if any of the terminology or ideas are wrong I apologize. So I understand that ion drives are very economical but very low thrust. Partly because powering ...
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Can an Alcubierre drive be built by starlifting?
I am setting up a very futuristic world for a sci-fi story, where having FTL tech would be very practical. For a bit of context, here is what I am imagining:
It is a type 3.2 - 3.3 civilisation, where ...
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A bussard ramjet breaks, does the ship's velocity eventually stop/slow?
Let's say I have a space ship which uses a bussard ramjet to achieve relativistic speeds. Something catastrophic happens and it breaks beyond repair.
I have read "Tau Zero" by Paul Anderson ...
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Engine most likely to be available in the next 80 years to accelerate a craft at 1g for 4 weeks
I posted this in Space SE, but someone suggested I also post it here. So here it is!
I am wondering what type of engine would most likely be available in the next 80 that can constantly accelerate a ...
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How fast is too fast for travel inside the solar system?
I'm looking past the science of fuels and star ship engine details at this point because I'm trying to establish speed limits around our solar system. My initial idea was to use TIME TO DESTINATION as ...
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Why would newer spaceships still have core ejection systems despite the proliferation of fusion reactors?
Set in near future Space tourism becomes a thing, the older spaceships have some issues with their nuclear reactors that occasionally suffers from positive void coefficient whereby the saturation of ...
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Why can't escape pods be opened from the inside?
Set in the near future Space tourism is a thing, all commercial and non-military spaceships must come equipped with multiple escape pods. The minimum specs for each escape pod are as follows:
min ...
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Calculating drop time from a spaceship to a planet
In my story, we have a spaceship orbiting at "LEO" around a foreign planet.
The planet has 0.6g gravity. same atmosphere density as Earth.
The ship orbits at 600km with an orbit time of 100 ...
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What would space equivalent of trucks look like? [closed]
I'm writing a story and the peoples' given profession is basically "space truckers": delivering small-to-medium containers of cargo across long distances in the galaxy. Because the journeys ...
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How large a mass could a spacecraft tow between solar systems?
For the purposes of this question, let's assume space travel does not involve 'shortcuts' through other dimensions (like so-called hyperspace) and that 'tractor-beam' technology exists.
Provided the ...
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How could one defend against a concentrated neutron beam in a hard sci-fi setting?
I'm thinking of adding a neutron beam cannon to my hard sci-fi setting (basically works by accelerating a bunch of ions and then shooting them at a beryllium foil target (see here).
However, I don't ...
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How could a spacecraft defend against a train of small hypervelocity impactors?
Hypervelocity (30 km/s) impactors tend not to penetrate that deep, even though they can have an enormous amount of kinetic energy. The penetration depth can be approximated by $l_i \sqrt{\rho_i/\rho_a}...
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Realistic protection for spaceships against kinetic projectiles
With relatively current technology (i.e. no force shields, etc) what are ways to protect a spaceship (or at least mitigate the amount of damage) against hypervelocity kinetic projectiles? I'm a ...
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Can a spaceship "hitchhike" on an explosion to escape a gravity well?
Common in sci-fi tropes but absolutely climactic nonetheless, a spaceship faces impending doom after encountering a gravity well such as a stellar black hole. The spaceship's captain gives the order ...
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How would you get a ship out of a gravity well?
Context
I'm helping a friend with a hard sci-fi story and we ran into an issue. In this setting the technology for absurdly powerful and efficient fusion drives which seem not to have heat managment ...
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Avoiding time travel or causality stuff
How to avoid blatantly time traveling or breaking causality in a big way when getting my characters to places quickly (Faster than light)?
The method used is a tunnel in some sort of different space ...
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Necessity of army and navy in a space warfare setting
I'm writing a realistic sci fi story involving interstellar conflict , where space warships (assume something like star destroyers from star wars) are the norm, These warships are capable of orbital ...
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How much liquid hydrogen is required to veer a manned probe off course into an escape trajectory in deep space?
I am working on this horror-scifi story based on the lost cosmonauts theory, where the Judica-Cordiglia brothers detected an SOS from a manned probe veering off into space before Yuri Gagarin ahem... ...
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What would it take for a spacecraft to travel to the sun's nadir and stop?
In a science fiction future universe, spacecraft routinely travel from a distance "above" a star's north or south pole to rendezvous with planets orbiting in the star system's orbital plane. ...
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Possibility of solar powered space stations around a red dwarf
I have an earth-like world orbiting an M7 red dwarf on the outer edge of the habitable zone(0.0443AU). Since red dwarfs emit more infrared light than visible light, solar panels would probably not be ...
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