TAS Cargo Drone

[BorgMan]

So, before I'm going to do anything with it, I have a slight problem.

Where's the warp core?

I've been looking over the schematics over at Cygnus X-1 and the complete engineering section, be it warp core or imupulse engines, is missing. Now, I've also seen the other blueprints but those seem a bit... complex, considering that it's supposed to be a robot ship which would prioritize large single-floor cargo spaces and modularity, something the second set of prints doesn't provide. Mashing the two up doesn't work either: a portion of the space in the first used as modular expansion is an actual part of the hull in the second, so that won't fly.

So, yeah, I could use a little help here figuring that stuff out. @sojourner : you wanted interiors right? This is your chance

 

[Finn]

^Why don't you decide for yourself? You wouldn't be the first to put in something to something "pre-existing".

 

[BorgMan]

^Why don't you decide for yourself? You wouldn't be the first to put in something to something "pre-existing".

Yeah, I know. But I was just wondering if there was someone out there who had a good idea about it. You know, before I start messing with a "canon" design...

 

[Albertese]

Much like the TOS Enterprise, the assumption should be that the ship doesn't have a warp-core as such. Rather, the reactors are self-contained within the nacelles.

On the other hand, there's never been an on screen MSD of the robot-ship (or its cousin, the TOS(r) Antares from "Charlie X") so you can do as you like!

--Alex

 

[Lord Other]

Yeah, I know. But I was just wondering if there was someone out there who had a good idea about it. You know, before I start messing with a "canon" design...

Hi Borgman- you could have both nacelles just be "circumferential" warp drive nacelles- that is to say all the M/AM fuel and power reactor equipment would be inside the nacelle, with supplementary power provided of course by the impulse drive. It should/would be a low-power design, as the nacelles would have less "coils" to work with, but still be fairly hardy and robust. All the components should all be fairly modular, "low maintenance" pieces since it is a robot ship, but there should be a central Engineering maintenance bay off the central hull with a computer workspace in case someone would need to board the ship while it was in operation. Just some ideas.

 

[BorgMan]

Solid advice, Lord Other! The plans mention a small engineering bay right at the base of the pylons, but those are too small. I think placing a small engineering "locker" at the aft of the corridor between the two cargoholds on deck 7 should do the trick. While I'm at it, I think I'll place impulse engines there as well...

 

[Finn]

Much like the TOS Enterprise, the assumption should be that the ship doesn't have a warp-core as such. Rather, the reactors are self-contained within the nacelles.

On the other hand, there's never been an on screen MSD of the robot-ship (or its cousin, the TOS(r) Antares from "Charlie X") so you can do as you like!

--Alex

You mean those mains Scotty spoke of?

 

[Lord Other]

Solid advice, Lord Other! The plans mention a small engineering bay right at the base of the pylons, but those are too small. I think placing a small engineering "locker" at the aft of the corridor between the two cargoholds on deck 7 should do the trick. While I'm at it, I think I'll place impulse engines there as well...

You're more than welcome, I'm glad I could help. If I may make another suggestion- you might want to include a airlock/gangway or even turbolift interconnect at the bow of the drone either for it to have been a ship like the Antares, or for it to be able to be swapped and reconfigured into use as such.

 

[BorgMan]

You're more than welcome, I'm glad I could help. If I may make another suggestion- you might want to include a airlock/gangway or even turbolift interconnect at the bow of the drone either for it to have been a ship like the Antares, or for it to be able to be swapped and reconfigured into use as such.

Way ahead of you ;-) Because I love me some swappable stuff for ships to pose as different ships alright! SketchUp has the possibility to work in layers, where one can enable or disable them. I'm going to model it in such a way that the deflector's position is where the gangway will be.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

If you have the M/AM reactors in each nacelle, wouldn't that bring more potential for some sort of warp imbalance?

 

[Lord Other]

If you have the M/AM reactors in each nacelle, wouldn't that bring more potential for some sort of warp imbalance?

IMHO generally speaking, no- as long as the warp field is stable and the reactors (under computer control) are operating in sync a wormhole imbalance should not occur.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

IMHO generally speaking, no- as long as the warp field is stable and the reactors (under computer control) are operating in sync a wormhole imbalance should not occur.

There are physical parts, say, injectors that have been know to freeze up whenever the plot required them to.

 

[Lord Other]

There are physical parts, say, injectors that have been know to freeze up whenever the plot required them to.

That's where I would go for the "routine-dependable" hardware and software on this drone. Keep all the parts with a very low FOB, and operate the drone in a very placid, if uninteresting route if possible to minimize/prevent wear and tear on internal/external flight systems.

 

[BorgMan]

Both the dorne and the Antares would operate using off-the-shelf, proven, reliable hardware and software, a bit like all the modern spacecraft like Cassini and such use old CPUs. Yes, that means they're slower, but it's also a way of making sure the ships do what they're supposed to, without too much interference. The tech manual states that they're being visited by a maintenance crew roughly once a year, so all the tech inside needs to keep going at least that time without interference.

Then there's the issue of it being undefended. Low tech makes it a less interesting target to pirate too.

 

[Atolm]

I really love these ships from tos/tas as it shows right off the bat some very exotic shapes when compared to the few "standard" starships. Excellent work Borgman!

 

[Klaus]

the dorne

...couldn't resist.

 

[BorgMan]

I just noticed it and was absolutely sure someone would meme the shit out of it hahahaha!

I really love these ships from tos/tas as it shows right off the bat some very exotic shapes when compared to the few "standard" starships. Excellent work Borgman!

And to think I haven't even got anything to show for yet? :-p

 

[Atolm]

Well, step to it man

 

[BorgMan]

Yeah yeah yeah, I know...


My oh so smart idea for the bussards didn't work out the way I wanted it too though. Gotta find something else for that...

 

[Lord Other]

Yeah yeah yeah, I know...


My oh so smart idea for the bussards didn't work out the way I wanted it too though. Gotta find something else for that...

Since the nacelles are of a more basic design, and are similar in construction to something I am doing for the 2235-2245 time period for a cruiser class starship. I've drawn up a rough sketch in Paint to give you a rough idea of what I was doing.

The ionization emitters are demarcated according to the LED colours shown, and the ionization focusing ring could easily have a rotating / spinning element coming off of it, running parallel to the dome skin. In my imagination the outer ring of ionization emitters cycles in groups of three (with one at full luminance, the other two in the group at 1/2 of that value) at equilateral points running counter-clockwise (Blue, Orange, Yellow and Orange, Yellow, Green), while the spinning elements / blades would operate clockwise at 2-4x the speed of emitters cycling, but of course these are just some ideas.