It's off to Zeta Zkribbler VII

[DRoseDARs]

A decent-sized asteroid gives you more options for storing all the supplies you'll need than a ship built from scratch would.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Sandman
To stretch this analogy to breaking point, the equipment which is needed to hollow out the mountain is also in a really deep pit.

But of significantly less mass.

In all probability, most of an interstellar spacecraft's mass will be fuel, making a bulky asteroid even more unwieldy; why strain the engines carrying thousands of tons of useless rock?

Because we can get fuel in space. In fact, using a fusion ramjet we don't need to carry fuel.

[Zkribbler]

Re: Re: It's off to Zeta Zkribbler VII

Originally posted by Asmodean

But when we get there, we will find that the Drengin have already colonized the system the previous turn.

Dammit! I hate it went that happens.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by BlackCat
It seems that most people here worries about how to build a transport and get it there - just don't forget the small detail of landing and settling.

Unless you want to start at 4000 BC, lots of equipment and resources are needed and while it may be troublesome to get something up, it's equally troublesome to get something down (I assume it's supposed to be done safely)

You will escape safely when your seven separate escape pods exit the ship and land dispersed across the planet. You open the pod to find an unexpected pinkish fungus . . ..

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Flubber


You will escape safely when your seven separate escape pods exit the ship and land dispersed across the planet. You open the pod to find an unexpected pinkish fungus . . ..

Yup, and merrily do some crosscountry driving to pop other pods to see what other gifts they have - oups, this was one of those with eight "gifts" - it might take a moment to fix the situaaargh.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
On Earth, you're dealing with a lot of essentially unpredictable ground forces during an earthquake, that's why buildings are designed to withstand worse-case scenarios derived under controlled experiments to predict what forces and their magnitudes might be inflicted on the structure during an actual event. In space, you're only dealing with a few forces that have very distinct orientations and magnitudes. They're not going to seemingly shift randomly* this way and that.

(*Note: "Randomly" is a poor choice of word but I'm not sure what would be better. We know how various forces should behave, it's just a matter of what manifests during an actual event that's unpredictable until it's happening. In space you would not have as many surprises as you would on the ground.)

Accelerating something to 0.25c is bound to throw up a few surprises. Engine vibrations, heating and cooling, the stresses caused by maneuvering or deceleration. The additional uncertainty from using a piece of untestable rock as fuselage is not worth the hassle. Who knows what flaws and fissures are lurking in the material?

As for removing material, depending on your asteroid (or other available asteroids) you might be able to convert a goodly portion of that material into useful fuel, either as direct propellant or as fuel to create another type of fuel. You could just eject it (careful where you aim... ) but why do that if you can make it useful before that? Convert it while you're still in-system and still have access to solar power or even just move the asteroid into a closer orbit of Sol until you've mined and converted enough mass into usable fuel and empty interior space before the journey begins. No need to do in en route and well-away from any exterior help and supplies.

But of significantly less mass.

'Converting' stuff is only possible in bad science fiction novels where the authors can't be bothered with the tiresome business of logistics. I do not believe that a starship, probably the most complex object ever concieved, with ten million different components, can be created out of asteroid material more cheaply than just boosting the stuff off Earth (even without a space elevator).

Even something as prosaic as copper wire is hard to make in space. Extracting copper is a complex process, requiring sulphuric acid and gravity. Pulling it off in space (assuming that suitable materials can be found) is a considerable engineering challenge which would require lots of heavy machinery.

Because we can get fuel in space. In fact, using a fusion ramjet we don't need to carry fuel.

It still needs fuel for the initial starting acceleration. In any case, a lighter ship is faster.