Dominion War / TNG Movie Era Oberth class science ship

[Timo]

Certainly it would make a lot of sense to retain a design that adequately performs a space survey function - because space does not evolve. If an Oberth is good for charting nebulae in AD 2279, it should be good for the job in AD 2379, too, even if with a modernized sensor suite. Or in AD 123,456,279, for that matter.

The 24th century would also have done away with issues such as availability of spares. Such availability would no longer depend on the continuing existence of original tooling, because tooling would now be generic, and any factory churning out the latest in combat starships could churn out exact replicas of 2130s-vintage warp regulators as well.

Also, a 23rd century starship design would already be the result of thousands of years of development by UFP member cultures, plus a hundred years of integration work between those cultures. A mere additional century would hardly outdate the design to any significant degree, if the general lack of radical progress in warp drive between TOS and TNG is any indication.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[LCARSGFX]

Also, shouldn't there be a turbolift from the saucer to the engineering section?

Nope. Note the stairs. There is no turbolift system. The ship is too small to warrant a power hungry, space hogging turbolift system.
Crew must crawl through jefferies tubes or transport to the pod.

The more-efficient, less power-hungry alternative to an elevator is the transporter?

The more-efficient, less power-hungry alternative to an elevator are stairs and jefferies tubes.
The Transporter is there as an emergency measure. The crew would normally use jefferies tubes.
But if the core is going critical, you don't want to have to take a 4 or 5 minute crawl up a tube, do you?

 

[Timo]

...Which makes one wonder why any ship would have crawlways when walkways would be preferable. Surely e.g. the pylons of this ship could be equipped with full-height corridors along which people could move up and down at normal walking pace and posture - or run if necessary?

Really, the "pod is cut off from saucer by the pylon configuration" argument fails to convince. A ship with a neck like the Constitution one would have one route between the two hulls. An Oberth has two such necks - surely an improvement in accessibility?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Santaman]

One thing against stairs... would it even be possible to fit them? I mean if you look at the angle of the pylons from a frontal view thenI don't really see how you can fit stairs, the pylons aren't as thick as a Constitutions neck.. you do have to be able to stand and walk to use stairs

 

[LCARSGFX]

Spot on Santaman

 

[Timo]

If the ship is 150 meters long, then she's 75 meters wide and those pylons are about two meters thick. Plenty of headroom there. Or elbowroom if the stairs are positioned the other way around, so that the staircase is two meters wide but can have any arbitrary height.

Although as said, staircases with steps would be a grave mistake - people don't like stairs that are more than one floor high (per flight, or overall). Just have a stepless corridor there instead, with "down" pointing towards the outer surface of the pylon all the time.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Santaman]

Hmm.. compressed air tube system, just wrap a blanket around yourself for a snug fit and you'll pop up in the desired hull within seconds..

 

[Timo]

...Or just a simple unpowered slide (unpowered, that is, apart from the gravitics that one is going to have in any case). By the 23rd century, they have probably perfected wear-resistant pants and frictionless slide surfaces...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[LCARSGFX]

If the ship is 150 meters long, then she's 75 meters wide and those pylons are about two meters thick. Plenty of headroom there. Or elbowroom if the stairs are positioned the other way around, so that the staircase is two meters wide but can have any arbitrary height.

Although as said, staircases with steps would be a grave mistake - people don't like stairs that are more than one floor high (per flight, or overall). Just have a stepless corridor there instead, with "down" pointing towards the outer surface of the pylon all the time.

Timo Saloniemi

Don't forget the angles of the pylons and the need for them to be structural and not hollow filled with stair cases. Note also the angle the join each hull. The angle they lead up would cut significantly into any head room. A system of stairs would probably be far too complex to be worth it.
Jefferies tubes seem the easiest method to me.

All very well discussed here: http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/articles/oberth-size.htm

 

[Santaman]

I know that discussion and thats why I chose to believe that there's that cage lift where you have to sit instead of stand, that would make the rotating inner cage possile so you'd end up the right way up when you arrive at either hull.

Jefferies tubes are fine and would of course work but I doubt they would be popular, its a hell of a climb.

 

[Timo]

Don't forget the angles of the pylons

What angle? There is no up or down in space, save for whatever is established through the use of artificial gravity. Which in this case would obviously be used to create "down" that points 45 degrees away from the "down" of the saucer hull or the pod.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[LCARSGFX]

I can't believe I'm discussing the mechanics of a non-existant, and rather poorly designed ship! LOL

 

[Timo]

...As opposed to drawing detailed pictures of its interiors?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[LCARSGFX]

Drawing detailed pictures is fine, one has artistic license. It doesn't always have to make sense. Some of the screen used MSDs don't make much sense either!

 

[Santaman]

I can't believe I'm discussing the mechanics of a non-existant, and rather poorly designed ship! LOL

Fun, isn't it?

 

[USS Jack Riley]

The talk of stairs and Jeffries tubes brings up a possible solution. What about 0g jeffries tubes? Solves the problem of quickly gaining access as needed and hauling heavy, albeit limited in size, equipment through the passageway.

Just a thought.

 

[LCARSGFX]

You have a point!

 

[SonicRanger]

Hmm.. compressed air tube system, just wrap a blanket around yourself for a snug fit and you'll pop up in the desired hull within seconds..

http://theinfosphere.org/Tube_Transport_System

 

[Santaman]

^^ LOL

But I still believe its a cage lift.. Oh to make it advanced enough for Timo a linear motor powered one..