Subject:
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Re: Some great Space info and dicussion
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Thu, 23 Jan 2003 08:32:47 GMT
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Viewed:
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1180 times
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In lugnet.space, Tony Alexander writes:
> Indeed, but you seem to assume that there will be only one kind of
> combat in space. I can think of several situations where it might be useful
> to have the larger craft transporting smaller craft, which are then used as
> the primary vehicles of combat. Today's carrier missions use the large
> carrier craft to transport the smaller aircraft close enough to a zone to be
> used effectively; each vehicle is used according to it's strengths, and each
> is a needed part of the system in which it's based. A similar need might
> one day exist for spacecraft, wherein each type of vehicle is used according
> to it's strengths; there will likely be missions for which a larger craft is
> useless, but for which the smaller craft can't traverse the distance - when
> used together, they could achieve the objective that each used alone never
> could.
> And what about peaceful, exploratory missions, as I mentioned? I think
> the greater possibility exists that these will find the carrier
> configuration to be useful. I'm not talking about cost here, just about
> possibility and usefulness.
Small spacecraft dependent upon larger craft for long-range transport likely
would have much greater utility in peaceful purposes than in warfare. Sure,
we're talking about usefulness, of which energy costs are a great factor in
space. If a craft deploys its fighters after it has decelerated to meet the
enemy, the fighter craft will have to accelerate to get ahead of the main
vehicle, deploy their weapons, and then either decelerate in preparation for
pickup, or continue to coast along at their new velocity. It would make more
sense to deploy the craft before deceleration, so as to avoid unnecessary
expenditure of fuel, and to add kinetic energy to the weapons which the
fighters may employ for anti-shipping strikes. They again have to either
coast along or decelerate.
> If America had just stuck to the rules instead of trying to do what
> they were told was impossible, we'd never have gone to the moon. But in
> dreaming of reaching new worlds, we discovered that creativity and faith can
> work wonders where we think the laws are set in stone.
> Isn't that kind of what Lego is all about?
Well, we are talking about actual space warfare, yes? Space warfare would of
necessity be largely determined by the cold, set-in-stone laws of physics.
If one were to keep wasting energy as if there were no tomorrow, one would
unnecessarily create a larger logistical train, which is a bad idea across
interstellar or stellar distances.
Physics don't tell us that we ought to not experiment, but they do give us a
basic guideline of what is or is not feasible, and most expedient for the
purposes of conducting warfare in space.
War, exploration, and all other fields of creative human endeavor will
always be helped or hindered by the economic and political realities of the
day, not exclusively creativity. Hell, since the '60s, we've had the
technology to easily reach Saturn or Mars, or even launch an interstellar
probe. However, politics and the feelings and outcrying of the liberal left
have for the past few decades crushed any dreams of any such things.
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Some great Space info and dicussion
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| Go play. You need to lighten up. Let me dream my dreams and play with possibilities; if you want to do the math, have fun. Maybe one day we can build something together. I understand your point, and know that there are some laws you can't break. I (...) (22 years ago, 23-Jan-03, to lugnet.space)
| | | Re: Some great Space info and dicussion
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| <snip> (...) the problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes future travel will be based acceleration and deceleration in normal space. simply traveling at light speed has a whole bunch of problems associated with it, which is why most (...) (22 years ago, 24-Jan-03, to lugnet.space)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Some great Space info and dicussion
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| In lugnet.space, Jordan D. Greer writes: [ le snip ] (...) Indeed, but you seem to assume that there will be only one kind of combat in space. I can think of several situations where it might be useful to have the larger craft transporting smaller (...) (22 years ago, 23-Jan-03, to lugnet.space)
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