Rotating spaceship idea

[Alan Bolte]

Wasn't real sure whether to put this here, in SLAM, or OSF. Nothing here is to scale or proportional, it's just a sketch. I started to put in some detail, but realized it wasn't really important before I got very far. Made with Truespace 3.2 and the GIMP.

Half-assed cross-sectional thingy:

It's occasionally discussed in SLAM and OSF that rotating sections aren't a great idea, especially for a warship. So, I've been thinking, what sort of shape would allow for rotation of the entire craft? This is the result. The command module (top) is always attached to the service module (center), though it can detach in case of emergency, or perhaps for maintenence. On the other hand, the payload module (bottom) is designed to be easily exchanged for another module, much like modern freight containers. Their trapezoidal shape means that additional payload modules can be added to the ship until they form a cylinder around the service module, with doors between each. Obviously, this would slow the ship down tremendously. Particularly bulky equipment would require either a nonstandard payload module or external attachment.

Comments? Any other ideas as to what is important to a rotating design?

[NoXion]

How big is it? What sort of weapons is it going to fire? What's it's role?

[Zor]

That ship is going to be really vunerable much like the EA Omega. Shoot at the two beems between the hab sections for a kil. It also would be a bicth to manuver.

Zor

[Alan Bolte]

I wasn't necessarily thinking in terms of warship, actually, though I'd certainly like to consider whether this or another design is appropriate for duty as a warship. And the concern about the connecting beams is quite easily solved with a few additional structural beams between the sections, though of course that increases both the mass and the rotational inertia. At least this ship won't tear itself apart.

Good point about maneuvering, I have been wondering what kind of thruster placement and design would work well for this kind of ship. I assume that with computer-aided navigation and the appropriate setup, possibly including aimable thrusters, turns shouldn't be as much of a problem as one might think.

What sort of scales is this design appropriate for, if any? When I first thought of the design I was thinking in terms of just one to three decks in the command module.

Were I to equip this ship with weapons, I'd mount a heavy laser on the forward face of the service module. Defensive turrets, whether lasers or autocannon, might be placed on the service module near its center. Payload modules would be ideal missile launchers.

[Isolder74]

A rotating setion isn't nesserily bad it all depends on how it is mounted on the ship. Look at the Discovery from 2001 A Space Odessey.

It has a rotating section but its on the interrior of the ship.

I have one faction who uses rotating sections in a story I am writing and science vessel that does it as well. For the science vessel its intended as a power saving feature so on long cruises the habitation area does not need as much power hence saving fuel. They can shut down the gravity in the labs ect(except where they have critical stuff stored) and other nonessensial areas of then ship as it travels between stars.

For a warship its just one more thing that can fail and is usually to easy of a target.

[The Jazz Intern]

it looks neat. however, I must agree that it would be hard to manuver.