TAS Cargo Drone

[Shawnster]

The original idea from the Matt Jefferies days was that the entire power plant was in the nacelles. All of the original creators were WWII veterans. Roddenberry (and Jefferies, too, I believe) were familiar with bombers. The power plant on a bomber was the engine. The more engines, the more power plants. This was how the Enterprise (and, by extension, all Starfleet and Federation ships) was envisioned. The entire power plant was in the nacelle and the more nacelles, the more power. This was why Franz Joseph designed the destroyers and scouts with only 1 nacelle and the dreadnought with 3 nacelles.

TMP tossed this idea on it's ear when it introduced the warp core. Instead of matter antimatter reactions being in the engine, it took place in the core. Ever since then people have tried to retcon the TOS Enterprise to have a warp core and all the ships must have a warp core. Some fandom has suggested that between TOS and TMP there was a massive leap in technology equal to the leap from steam engine paddleboats to diesel engine ships

 

[Masao]

This blueprint of the Robot cargo ship was in the Roddenberry Facebook page last June.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1....=4d506a1b008c12f9de533521a42ec8f6&oe=5993276C

 

[uniderth]

You mean the matter-anti-matter reaction? That takes place out there in the nacelles where the anti-matter is stored.

 

[Lord Other]

T

You mean the matter-anti-matter reaction? That takes place out there in the nacelles where the anti-matter is stored.

There's alot of evidence to support that was Jefferies original intent in the design of the Enterprise. But by the episode "That Which Survives" its demonstrable per dialogue that the Enterprise probably has three M/AM reactors providing power for the warp drive, with one in the Engineering hull, and one in the each of the nacelles.

 

[Atolm]

That's a beauty Borgman!

 

[BorgMan]

Alright, problem time again.

I need a way of letting those doors move or twist or whatever while still keeping the centerline divide (that's what the blueprint says) , but which also doesn't use up a lot of space on the inside. Normally you'd just let the door slide sideways and be done with it, but there's no room for that in here. And I really can't figure out how on earth the original designer had planned on letting that work...

That being said, more areas of the ship have that problem, but until now some nudging of objects left and right has resolved that. More picture time!

Deck 4 - Cargo elevator:

Deck 6 - Battery room:

Yeah, I deviated from the plans here. Access to the individual batteries isn't possible otherwise. Plus: every space ship needs... narrow spaces...

Deck 7 - Cargo elevator, cargo transporter, refrigerated hold (aft left)

Deck 7 - aforementioned refrigerated hold:

Yeah, strain those eyes. This is a cargo drone; not a daily operated ship. Who needs lights anyway?

 

[Lord Other]

Alright, problem time again.

I need a way of letting those doors move or twist or whatever while still keeping the centerline divide (that's what the blueprint says) , but which also doesn't use up a lot of space on the inside. Normally you'd just let the door slide sideways and be done with it, but there's no room for that in here. And I really can't figure out how on earth the original designer had planned on letting that work...

That being said, more areas of the ship have that problem, but until now some nudging of objects left and right has resolved that. More picture time!

You might try a door with what amounts to arms mounted on tracks with hydraulic extenders to close the doors like so..

Or you might try side-mounted "scroll" or roll-up doors of the kind that are on the Enterprise D main shuttlebay..

Yeah, strain those eyes. This is a cargo drone; not a daily operated ship. Who needs lights anyway?

Unless someone is aboard, you probably could have the ship's computer have the lighting be completely off all over the ship (think M-5 from "The Ultimate Computer") as a power saving measure, but have them only come up when a living being is in that area. It could lead to some interesting "Alien-esque" moments for some poor maintenance man.. "Why are the lights coming up over there? Wait.. why are those lights coming up? Is somebody over there? Hello?? ARGH!!"

 

[BorgMan]

Hahahaha yeah I know, it's just that I've noticed the lights aren't producing as much lumen as I was hoping so it needs to change regardless.

The problem with the track is that I don't even have the space for the track as suggested on top. Right now my only option is a door akin to those slide glide doors found on buses, like so. But with that slanted wall to the left, I feel that takes up a lot of space...

 

[Lord Other]

The problem with the track is that I don't even have the space for the track as suggested on top. Right now my only option is a door akin to those slide glide doors found on buses, like so. But with that slanted wall to the left, I feel that takes up a lot of space...

This is similar to the buses you mentioned, but would have the machinery in the floor and overhead on tracks. In effect it's akin to the TOS Enterprise "clamshell" doors- a sliding stack type arrangment?

 

[BorgMan]

So, yeah, that's one solution: going with segmented doors instead of two big units...

 

[sojourner]

You could go the garage door route. Works for most houses.

 

[Lord Other]

You could go the garage door route. Works for most houses.

The only problem with that is I believe BorgMan wanted to have the cargo bay entry split in the middle as originally designed.

 

[sojourner]

Go with the obvious then. Swing them open like barn doors.

 

[B.J.]

The only problem with that is I believe BorgMan wanted to have the cargo bay entry split in the middle as originally designed.

You could still do garage doors, just have two of them rotated 90 degrees.

 

[Atolm]

Working off of BJ's statement:

The doors would pivot at their centre, turning 90 degrees, and then side to their respective sides via a track system on the top and bottom.

 

[sojourner]

That's interesting to look at, but what's the advantage from a functional standpoint compared to just having them swing out?

 

[B.J.]

I was thinking more like the segmented roll-up garage doors, just with two of them turned on their side.

 

[Lord Other]

I was thinking more like the segmented roll-up garage doors, just with two of them turned on their side.

Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing on my first response about the doors..

 

[BorgMan]

Hey guys. Let me just drop this baby in here. So much fun!

 

[Atolm]

Awesome!