I still haven't gotten around to finishing the inspection pod, but this one looks done to me:
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More LCARS 24 schematics
- Thread starter Bill Morris
- Start date
Great work as always 
. I'm wondering if you're planning on doing some further alien designs? I've enjoyed those the most- particularly given that it's so rare to see anyone work on non-Federation craft.
. I'm wondering if you're planning on doing some further alien designs? I've enjoyed those the most- particularly given that it's so rare to see anyone work on non-Federation craft.Thanks. Sure. In progress now are the Type 11, Archer's inspection pod, the Aeon, and the Freedom class. After that, there's not a lot of canon Fed stuff, so more alien vessels and real space hardware, of which I have only 10 so far (NASA, ESA, Russian, not on Cygnus but on my Web site and in my LCARS software package, which is the main target for all this stuff). The alien shuttle Alice was fairly easy, because that VOY the episode gave us a grand tour of the craft. There was also a Bajoran fighter that Kira piloted with Dax as copilot that I haven't researched yet, but we got a pretty good look inside in that DS9 episode. So that's one to think about.
Thanks, guys. I have to get back on that inspection pod. It's close.
Here's something from the Sovereign class shuttlebay:
Here's something from the Sovereign class shuttlebay:
That's quite a challenge - the front cockpit lacks an entry door altogether (roof or floor hatches notwithstanding), while the aft door doesn't seem to lead to anywhere interesting...
I guess the best approach would be to do something similar to what Tobias Weimann did with the Danube interiors once. He figured out that the blue-green computer panel just behind the transporters (in the earliest versions of the set) could be interpreted as a rail-mounted CPU column of some sort, something our heroes could push back and thus access the amidships and aft regions of their craft. Similarly, the wall behind the transporters of Type 11 might have to open up somehow to turn this nonsensical design into a practically workable one.
Does Type 11 really have a torpedo launcher? The only thing we ever see it fire is the (aft) tetryon pulse, which isn't associated with torpedo launchers as far as we know.
As regards the Sydney class, I like the idea of that big aft deck with a row of aft-facing space windows - although those windows were probably supposed to be the impulse engines of the craft...
Timo Saloniemi
I guess the best approach would be to do something similar to what Tobias Weimann did with the Danube interiors once. He figured out that the blue-green computer panel just behind the transporters (in the earliest versions of the set) could be interpreted as a rail-mounted CPU column of some sort, something our heroes could push back and thus access the amidships and aft regions of their craft. Similarly, the wall behind the transporters of Type 11 might have to open up somehow to turn this nonsensical design into a practically workable one.
Does Type 11 really have a torpedo launcher? The only thing we ever see it fire is the (aft) tetryon pulse, which isn't associated with torpedo launchers as far as we know.
As regards the Sydney class, I like the idea of that big aft deck with a row of aft-facing space windows - although those windows were probably supposed to be the impulse engines of the craft...
Timo Saloniemi
Here's a tour of the interior of the Type 11 that might clear up some of that, unless it's just total BS. I think it does have a microtorp launcher on the hull below the transporter, much like that on the Danube class.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUHb0KMXWYs[/yt]
Regarding the Sydney class, I suppose that when the Starfleet personnel charged with hull design for the Sydney class noticed that the data for the executive shuttle were such a close match to wrap around the given configuration for the interior it was decided to use those existing data but with the frame for the aft row of windows retaining the shape of that for the impulse exhaust on the shuttle.
And the story that Star Trek is science fiction and that this was a case of reusing a model is just Romulan propaganda.
Hey, nice... That's probably doable; the people shooting ST:INS did their best to mask the fact that this was the runabout cockpit redressed, but there's one shot where you can see that the two side doors to the cockpit area still exist. Whether there'd be enough space beyond them for that nice and straight corridor is difficult to tell - the animation might have TARDIS features - but some sort of a corridor could probably be done.
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
Here's the inspection pod, with dimensions based on those given for the control panel in the catalog for Christie's auction (page 6) and the seat scaled according to the catalog listing for the Phoenix seats on page 35:
http://startrekpropcollector.com/trekauctions/data/pages/christies/page6.html
http://startrekpropcollector.com/trekauctions/data/pages/christies/page6.html
Why is the docking probe in the FRONT of the capsule when the thing already has an airlock and an APAS-style docking probe is on the BACK of the craft?
I didn't design the thing. But it's stored in the cargo bay rather than the shuttlebay, it doesn't have landing pads, and something has to hold it steady for maintenance and egress. An NX-01 shuttlepod has the docking collar at the top, even though it has two side doors in addition to egress through the docking collar and a dorsal hatch just aft of the docking collar, all of which were seen in use in the series.
Okay. John Eaves says it's a bumper. So I'll change that. But that doesn't explain how this pod is secured so it doesn't move around when the ship is in battle, etc. It seemed reasonable to me to clamp that nose to something solid for stowage, and an old-style probe-and-drogue system seemed to make that easy enough. Otherwise there has to be a big fancy docking port for each one of these little guys.
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Here's the updated version:
Just going out to have a look at things is probably not a worthwhile pursuit for a crewed vehicle. This pod is probably equipped to actually get something done out there, too.
For that purpose, it would make sense to have a "docking adapter" or "grabber" at the bow of the vessel, plus a few retractable tools. Although there'd probably be a dedicated toolkit that would normally not be carried but would fit in the bow grabber for heavy work. (And have a bow grabber of its own, for attaching to the worksite...)
Timo Saloniemi
For that purpose, it would make sense to have a "docking adapter" or "grabber" at the bow of the vessel, plus a few retractable tools. Although there'd probably be a dedicated toolkit that would normally not be carried but would fit in the bow grabber for heavy work. (And have a bow grabber of its own, for attaching to the worksite...)
Timo Saloniemi
^ That makes perfect sense. But for me, I made a different assumption. I actually thought the bumper would be magnetic and could help secure the pod to the ships hull while it worked. That way you didn't scratch the paint. The tool sets you were talking about would be housed behind the plates in the nose cone and gripping arms could be stored in the side "roll bars". Larger more specific tools could be attached to those same roll bars if needed.
I also ended up using the bumper as a way of securing the inspection pod to the storage "sled". After speaking with Doug Drexler about the aft sections of the saucer, I learned he had intended the aft doors (in what is known as the "back porch") to be a maintenance facility and staging area for the external sections of the ship, specifically the warp nacelles. So I designated the starboard door for inspection pod storage and equipped it with a docking systems for them. (I also chose to ignore the pods egress from the ventral cargo doors in "Dead Stop".)
24th Century ships used tractor beams to capture and guide shuttle craft into the bays. Since the 22nd Century doesn't have tractor technology, I thought a mechanical or sled system would do the same job. So, to that end, I designed a mechinical sled that would follow a track out to the edge of the bay door. The pilot would land the pod onto the sled's cradle. Then the sled locks onto the pod and pulls it back into the bay and to its docking berth. From there, power and life support umbilicals would automatically connect to resupply the craft and artificial gravity in the bay would come back on. The sled would keep the inspection pod securely stored in the gravity environment until it was needed again. The sled would follow this path in reverse to launch the vessel.
As for the bumper... it would be used to dock the pod into the sled. The sled would also use it to lock the pod down for moving and storage.
And LCARS 24 I just noticed something I hadn't before. I don't think the pod would need a fusion reactor. The technology is in its infancy during the 22nd Century and the NX-01 only has experimental fusion reactors in the saucer. (The main engines are actually plasma rockets powered by the warp core... all of this is according to Mr. Drexler.) I think the Inspection Pod would only use batteries and RCS thrusters to power itself outside the ship. It's so small it wouldn't need much else.
I also ended up using the bumper as a way of securing the inspection pod to the storage "sled". After speaking with Doug Drexler about the aft sections of the saucer, I learned he had intended the aft doors (in what is known as the "back porch") to be a maintenance facility and staging area for the external sections of the ship, specifically the warp nacelles. So I designated the starboard door for inspection pod storage and equipped it with a docking systems for them. (I also chose to ignore the pods egress from the ventral cargo doors in "Dead Stop".)
24th Century ships used tractor beams to capture and guide shuttle craft into the bays. Since the 22nd Century doesn't have tractor technology, I thought a mechanical or sled system would do the same job. So, to that end, I designed a mechinical sled that would follow a track out to the edge of the bay door. The pilot would land the pod onto the sled's cradle. Then the sled locks onto the pod and pulls it back into the bay and to its docking berth. From there, power and life support umbilicals would automatically connect to resupply the craft and artificial gravity in the bay would come back on. The sled would keep the inspection pod securely stored in the gravity environment until it was needed again. The sled would follow this path in reverse to launch the vessel.
As for the bumper... it would be used to dock the pod into the sled. The sled would also use it to lock the pod down for moving and storage.
And LCARS 24 I just noticed something I hadn't before. I don't think the pod would need a fusion reactor. The technology is in its infancy during the 22nd Century and the NX-01 only has experimental fusion reactors in the saucer. (The main engines are actually plasma rockets powered by the warp core... all of this is according to Mr. Drexler.) I think the Inspection Pod would only use batteries and RCS thrusters to power itself outside the ship. It's so small it wouldn't need much else.
Well, I was hoping that the nose connected to something simple, like a probe-and-drogue port that would hold the pod steady for stowage, allowing easy egress through the aft hatch when the pod is inside the ship.
Here again is the link to the Drex Files spread on this:
http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/enterprise-inspection-pod-interiors/
In addition, the design process is covered in Eavesdropping with Johnny, which includes an explanation about Mike Okuda's design for the aft docking mechanism.
http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/
And in the comments section someone actually asked about the articulating wedge in front, and John Eaves replied that it was just a bumper, here:
http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/inspection-pods-from-enterprise/#comments
About the microfusion generator, in today's real world Dr. Robert Bussard's polywell concept for a microfusion generator has already gone through seven miniature prototypes, funded by the U.S. Navy, and they were rumored to be ready to cough up money for a full-sized version (5 feet in diameter) theoretically capable of overunity just before Dr. Bussard died. He left a good team in place, and the seventh prototype was built and passed the Navy's tests, but they still haven't funded the full-scale prototype, which would cost around $200 million, although they are continuing to provide enough to keep the project and its laboratory going.
Out of respect for Dr. Bussard (after whom the Bussard collectors, as well as the Bussard ramscoop, were named), I'd like to think that microfusion generators are from our near future rather than just being in their infancy in Archer's time. And Bussard's invention would be housed in a roughly spherical casing, The Navy calls it a wiffleball.
Here again is the link to the Drex Files spread on this:
http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/enterprise-inspection-pod-interiors/
In addition, the design process is covered in Eavesdropping with Johnny, which includes an explanation about Mike Okuda's design for the aft docking mechanism.
http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/
And in the comments section someone actually asked about the articulating wedge in front, and John Eaves replied that it was just a bumper, here:
http://johneaves.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/inspection-pods-from-enterprise/#comments
About the microfusion generator, in today's real world Dr. Robert Bussard's polywell concept for a microfusion generator has already gone through seven miniature prototypes, funded by the U.S. Navy, and they were rumored to be ready to cough up money for a full-sized version (5 feet in diameter) theoretically capable of overunity just before Dr. Bussard died. He left a good team in place, and the seventh prototype was built and passed the Navy's tests, but they still haven't funded the full-scale prototype, which would cost around $200 million, although they are continuing to provide enough to keep the project and its laboratory going.
Out of respect for Dr. Bussard (after whom the Bussard collectors, as well as the Bussard ramscoop, were named), I'd like to think that microfusion generators are from our near future rather than just being in their infancy in Archer's time. And Bussard's invention would be housed in a roughly spherical casing, The Navy calls it a wiffleball.
...To be sure, the concept of "battery power" ought to resurface at some point prior to the TNG era, where sarium krellide batteries are all the rage and can power significant pieces of engineering without the need for a "primary power generator" such as a fusion engine. But ENT might well be an era that precedes such storage means yet postdates the invention of microfusion.
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
What I think has the highest power consumption in this little pod is the artificial gravity. And those things below the gravity generators are supposed to be power cells, although I didn't label them.
OTOH, I am still a bit dubious as to the need for a craft this size to even HAVE artificial gravity. I know this is Trek, and anything bigger than a toilet seat is supposed to have a gravity generator, but there's literally NO practical benefit for adding one in a craft whose sole purpose is to conduct visual inspections of the ship's exterior; the pod's basically a glorified space suit.
