An idea for a large spaceship

[daggoth2122]

So I've been thinking for a bit about this idea for a large spaceship and just wanted others opinions.
Yes I know this ship nor anything close to it will be built in my lifetime but I can dream about it!

So I was thinking about taking the basic design of the Nimitz class aircraft carrier and obviously changing the design of it but keeping the basic ship. I was thinking about extending the thin bottom of the ship (sorry I'm not to technical when it comes to ships) to about half the width of the sides of the ship to give it more space. Just to point out but there will be four of these. Oh forgot to mention but this ship is kinda meant to be a manufacturing plant that would be sent out to the astroid belts (to pay off the freaking massive amount of debt it would create) to mine them for minerals, materials, research, and partly to build more spaceships. This will be accomplished by having four of the previously mentioned Nimitz carrier design. Each one will have a different function. One will be outfitted to process the astroids for whatever is needed be it water, metals, or whatever we would need. Another section would be made specifically to make the electronic parts and metals needed to create more ships. A third one will be used specifically for growing food and that one will be kept at temperatures and moistures specifically for the plants not people so they will grow more food. The fourth ship will be used for habitation. This one will essentially be a giant centrifuge to simulate gravity. The ship itself will have 4 feet thick steel plating (just work with me here) as well as 2 feet thick lead protection AND 2 feet of water and finally finish that off with 1 more foot of steel. This is all to ensure complete protection for everyone inside. now all four section will be centered off in just about a square about 400 feet across from each other leaving a massive open space in the center to create ships. There will be openings from the manufacturing part of the ship to the processing part to obviously allow the construction of ships. The forward part of the ship will not be a block but a bit more like a pyramid that can be opened when a ship is complete to let it out. Now for the power. The one reason why I choose the the Nimitz for the basic design is because of the nuclear reactors. Each section will create enough power to power everything it needs in that part and probably then some. Then about a quarter of the back of the manufacturing plant will have several more reactors (obviously contained as to not be a danger) that will produce power for the nuclear engines. Yes nuclear engines are the only realistic way for moving this big bastard. The inside of the manufacturing plant will also be armored just incase some freak accident happens and a ship blows up in there. Okay now to get this bastard off ground will probably be a lot simpler (but what the hell do I know). Just build several extremely large rockets to launch it up to space. I know it's far more complex then I realize but it's not impossible.

Okay I think that's it......what do you think? I know there will need to be quite a bit of research but overall is not most of this technically feasible as of now? I know this whole project would probably cost trillions upon trillions of dollars but other then that nothing is really stopping this from becoming reality?

 

[vogon13]

I never thought i would post this.

An Orion nuclear impulse drive could not orbit that pile of metal !!


BTW, don't overdue the shielding, the human body is somewhat more transparent to cosmic ray primaries and somewhat less transparent to cosmic ray secondaries (what you get when a cosmic ray interacts with moderate to high Z shielding).

 

[daggoth2122]

Well the massive amounts of steel is more to protect from astroids more then radiation...yeah I know I overdid it on the radiation shielding but better safe then sorry I'd like to say since we don't know everything that happens out there.

 

[daggoth2122]

Like I said I wouldn't expect this every to be done and just because something is technically feasible doesn't mean it's even remotely practical....I know this....

 

[daggoth2122]

Idk I just read that there was a Super Orion ship that was supposed to be 8,000,000 tons that would have been lifted by that engine...so it's possible.

 

[daggoth2122]

Idk I just read that there was a Super Orion ship that was supposed to be 8,000,000 tons that would have been lifted by that engine...so it's possible.

 

[vogon13]

The big Orion ship you are referring to is the interstellar one, and it has to be assembled and launched from orbit. I don't know what the largest Orion you could launch from earth's surface is, but it would be much smaller than the interstellar one. Dyson discusses 4,000 to 10,000 ton craft for lofting from the surface.

Do you know how much 1 cubic meter of Fe masses ?? And your idea for asteroid protection is quaint. How about you Wiki "Whipple Shield" and redesign your heavy, heavy ship ?

BTW the big Orion at launch uses 25 megaton nukes to get going (less as you burn off the bomb load) so wear your sunblock.

 

[ZenGalacticore]

By the time we build large interstellar-faring spacecraft, I seriously doubt that steel will be used. We'll have composites many times stronger than steel and much lighter. (We already do).

 

[vogon13]

By the time we build large interstellar-faring spacecraft, I seriously doubt that steel will be used. We'll have composites many times stronger than steel and much lighter. (We already do).

The large interstellar Orion craft works well with cheap plentiful, higher Z iron (steel).

You might reinforce the pusher with a composite truss structure but that would be hideously expensive. You might want to save the composite materials for the living quarters, it would definitely save mass on the shock absorber system and that is a good thing, more payload or more speed, or a nice combination platter of both. Any piece of the Orion craft that goes all the way to the target planet that can be made lighter improves the performance of the entire system. The segmental pusher plate, with proportional shedding of annual segments along the way does not benefit as much from using composites. Also, hydriding of the steel pusher plate is probably amenable via metallurgical refinement, I have no idea how composites react to hydriding, and if the answer is ungood and you discover it 3 light years out from earth, it will ruin the whole trip. Recycling shed pusher plate steel into bomb casings also increases the performance of the system, not sure what you could do to a bomb with scrap composite other than as channel filler.

Which might be somewhat useful, but not the field goal steel leftovers can provide.

 

[ZenGalacticore]

By 'pusher plate' I take it you mean the 'inertia plate', right?

As far as shedding Z-iron or advanced composites to build bomb casings, whom are we going to bomb around 55 Cancri or... Epsilon Indi, or...

I mean, I still think we should weaponize the dang starship and all, just to be on the safe side. But I was thinking along the lines of a proton beam weapon/tool that runs the length of the chassis of the ship from the rear fusion reaction chambers and engines to the tip of the thing in front of the H-Scoop( the length of the ship being about 900 miles in proportion with an H-Scoop about twice or so the square mileage of Georgia), which would mostly all have to be made of hyper-lightweight, super-strong materials; and perhaps Space Service issue plasma rifles for personnel.

 

[vogon13]

My remarks are confined entirely to the (refined) Sixties style Orion nuclear impulse vessels. Great hulking, massive things that can transport viable human colonies to neighboring stars using millions of up to 25 megaton nuclear devices for propulsion.

 

[ZenGalacticore]

Oh yeah, okay. You're talking about the old "putt putt" fission reactor non-relativistic interstellar spacefaring craft with either seed incubators or chemical and/or cryogenic storage for the crew.

Why would we build those? Half-way to Alpha Centauri, those remaining on Earth would design faster craft and overtake the ole 'putt putt' fission designs with faster fusion craft! :lol:*

Just for laughs, when the old fission-ship crew arrives at a-Centauri, when they come out of cryosleep we could already be there and give them a "Wake-up 'Surprise-we're-already-here' party!"

 

[StarRider1701]

Ok, 4 Nimitz class Aircraft carriers, shapes modified a bit and stuck together to form one big spaceship. Hmm. No way in heck are you going to build that down here then blast it into space! Start with a couple of those reactors, which are quite managable in size, then build a small factory around them in orbit. Send them to the asteroid belt and build your ship out there. First build your space docks. Then get a real spaceship designer to design a much better, viable generation ship. Gluing 4 water boats together to make a spacecraft is a bad idea to begin with! Kinda like trying to build a 747 by gluing 4 stretch limos together! Probably aint gonna work.

 

[vogon13]

Assuming you could get it there, a Nimitz class aircraft carrier would make a pretty good vehicle for exploring an earth like world around another star.

Any viable human colony would develop ocean going cargo trade to get materials together, and exploring the coasts would be very useful. Large islands might be crucial locations too, particularly if the planet has some fauna that is difficult to deal with, an island might be cleared of inconvenient life forms rather more easily than a continent


.

 

[andrew_t1000]

For a BIG ship to be profitable it would have to be like the Mara Lua in my novel "Dallas Hyatt, Adventuress"
From Chapter 3 -
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The starliner Mara Lau broke orbit and made for the next system on her route. A truly beautiful ship, both inside and out, over eight kilometres long, four kilometers across at her widest and two kilometers high. She had theatres, cinemas, shopping malls, quite a few parks, many gardens, an artificial surf break, skate park, a huge ice rink, plus all the amenities that people expect on a cruise liner. Mara Lau could carry over a million people, not all tourists, some were permanent residents, retirees and students mainly. The ship had a regular route, visiting around forty systems, it took around a two years to complete, so that her permanent residents could have regular contact with loved ones and friends. Travel between the ship and the planets they were orbiting free for the families of permanent residents.

Many people saved their whole lives just so they could retire to a ship like the Mara Lau. She carried general cargo and in the event of an emergency, functioned as a hospital ship, there were two hospitals on board, all with excellent facilities. There were day care centres, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. In addition she had a well equipped and staffed university, students from all over the Federation and beyond came aboard to study. The previous owners had let the ship decline, the new owners had refurbished, renovated and updated all her systems and once again she was state of the art. Travel aboard a ship like her was not just for the very wealthy, Mara Lau catered to all walks of life, from backpackers to five star accommodation. Less like a spaceship and more like a small to medium resort town, living was easy and comfortable for her passengers, residents and crew.

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Ok, That WAS a shameless plug, but you get the idea!
If you want to read the whole of Part 1, look on the top level of the Science Fiction board.
Tell me what you think!

 

[ZenGalacticore]

She had it all!! I don't know Andrew... two hospitals for a million people?