Unseen TOS....

[Warped9]

I don’t mean to put anyone off, but as stated at the beginning of this thread anything post TOS is irrelevant to this subject given none of that existed yet when TOS was being made.

That said the age of steam or the age of ocean liners is indeed a reasonable analogy . The question then becomes what is the baseline? Is Europe to US supposed to be roughly equivalent to Earth to Alpha Centauri or something else?

it’s also interesting to note that the number of stars within a given radius of Earth increases exponentially as you go outward. Within 20 ly. there are about 150 stars. Within 25 ly. it goes up to a few hundred. Within 50 ly. it’s about 13,800. Within 100 ly. it is tens of thousands. So even in the early years of warp flight there would be potentially plenty of places to go.

 

[BK613]

You are getting speeds at the "Great age of ocean liners" range. US to Europe was about a week. England to India was a month or more. There was a reason Captains could marry people. Whole romances could take place between England and Australia. This is the pace of interstellar travel, not aircraft. Warp six by that scale is roughly a light year a day. Workable. ST Enterprise treated that scale as a thing.

I agree. Travel by air is like transwarp or wormhole travel in the Trekverse.

 

[Henoch]

In the Cage, the Enterprise moves at time warp 7 and travels 18 light years in about 24 hours. That's a speed of ~6400 c. Using the "Environmental Cochrane Factor", in this case = 18.65 to the Cubed Formula gives:

Speed (c) = 18.65 x WF^3

 

[Warped9]

Getting there.

 

[Warped9]

I can’t help but look at this and imagine what an interesting prequel series this could be—what ENT could have been, but wasn’t (in my opinion). Set far enough in TOS’ history that you needn’t overly worry about connecting damn near everything to TOS and other series. It not only could have looked different it could really indulge in retro futurism.

 

[Santaman]

Nice work, looks great.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

Yeah, but 31 days just to travel from Earth to Alpha Centauri would hamper a weekly TV series, no?

(the ship looks terrific, BTW!)

 

[Warped9]

Yeah, but 31 days just to travel from Earth to Alpha Centauri would hamper a weekly TV series, no?

(the ship looks terrific, BTW!)

It’s all a matter of how you tell the stories. A Valiant story really would be essentially a planet of the week series unless something extraordinary happens during the flight. You can refer to the flight time without actually having to show it. Note how in Stargate they often didn’t show dialling the gate and show the characters going through it. Often they just showed them arriving at their destination. TOS often did the same thing in showing the Enterprise already at its destination at the beginning of the story.

That said one could make the ship faster such as .0114 light-years-per-hour and thus Alpha Centauri would be about two weeks distant.


It’s not clear in the image above, but under the registration pennant it does say United Earth Space Probe Agency.

 

[Warped9]

 

[publiusr]

Just wonderful

 

[Warped9]

If we indulge in the obsession of going beyond mere speculative design and compare alternative cruising speeds for the Valiant.

Alpha Centauri (4.3 light years)
- .0057 light years per hour = 31.43 days
- .0114 light years per hour = 15.72 days

40 Eridani (16.5 ly)
- .0057 = 3.95 months
- .0114 = 2.01 months

50 light years
- .0057 = 1 year
- .0114 = 6 months

100 light years
- .0057 = 2 years
- .0114 = 1 year

500 light years
- .0057 = 10 years
- .0114 = 5 years

So if we were doing a series then we’d have to decide how much range we want this ship to have. A 50 light year radius has nearly 14,000 star systems. A 100 light year radius has tens of thousands of star systems. Either way thats plenty of potential places to go for stories.

Either way the galaxy edge is centuries away for a ship like the Valiant. If we’re talking about the upper or lower planes then it’s still several years distant, which is still far beyond practical reach. So as it’s been reasoned over the years the Valiant encountered something unusual to throw the ship far beyond its practical range to turn around to get home. If the ship can cruise at .0114 ly.p.h. then a daunting 5 year return voyage might be doable if they can somehow refuel and resupply along the way. If the ship can cruise only at .0057 ly.p.h. then a 10 year voyage could be considered insurmountable.

On further reflection a .0114 ly.p.h. cruising speed could be more workable story wise while keeping the ship within a 50-100 light year bubble. From our contemporary perspective the ship is still crazy fast at 100c while still seen as just poking along by TOS’ standards.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

Your reasoning is sound; a cruise speed of 100c opens up a lot more storytelling options while still keeping things realistically poky compared to the 23rd century. The producers of Star Trek: Enterprise must have done similar calculations and drew the same conclusion, since 100c = warp 4.6 which is the approximate cruising speed of the NX-01.

 

[Warped9]

Another thought. If a ship like the Valiant was also a sleeper ship then a 5-10 year voyage might not be insurmountable if the crew can sleep through it. However, the ship might not be capable of sustained FTL flight for years on end. Also if the ship's FTL drive is damaged beyond repair (something the Enterprise almost experienced) then the ship is essentially stranded. Even if they could attain a high relatavistic velocity and sleep through the voyage it would be at least centuries before the ship could make it home, barring any unforseen issues along the way. A FTL flight needs the drive on full time while a relativistic flight only requires acceleration and deceleration and you're coasting most of the way.

 

[Warped9]

If the Valiant were a model kit...or a smallish 2-3 ft. filming miniature. If this were meant to be a primary filming miniature such as the hero ship for a series or film then I would add more detail with lighting. Indeed I will add lighting to create some space scenes.

 

[tesral]

Nice work.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

Damn, she’s gorgeous Warped9!

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Warped9]

^^ Thanks!

I’m thinking the pod slung under the main hull could be slightly tweaked to be a sizeable landing craft.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ Perhaps some form of a lifting body design? That would give it a subtle homage to ENT’s shuttlepods and the actual Space Shuttle...

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Warped9]

Considering how I might envisage the 22nd century it won’t look anything like ENT.

I think this worked out pretty neat. Turn it on its end and without the rings and it looks like a massive rocket booster. Lay it out on its side with the parts I added and it looks like its own thing.

I’m finding myself wanting to try the V2 like shaped concept I originally envisioned several years ago.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ Sorry, I meant something along the lines of the Dream Chaser or X-24 space plane (lifting body).

Cheers,
-CM-