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Post by FlammableCactus on Aug 30, 2018 21:58:53 GMT
Damnit crew capsules are heavy and I want them lighter.
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Post by someusername6 on Aug 30, 2018 22:25:34 GMT
Try polyethylene to minimize mass.
(Or make it a drone, rather than include a crew compartment.)
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Post by AdmiralObvious on Aug 30, 2018 22:28:16 GMT
Try polyethylene to minimize mass. (Or make it a drone, rather than include a crew compartment.) I thought raw potassium was the go to crew module if you wanted light? |
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Post by someusername6 on Aug 30, 2018 22:33:04 GMT
Try polyethylene to minimize mass. (Or make it a drone, rather than include a crew compartment.) I thought raw potassium was the go to crew module if you wanted light? Potassium is less dense, but you may need more of it depending on the shape of the crew container module, making the overall mass larger. Try a 20 crew module with 7 decks for example. |
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Post by apophys on Aug 30, 2018 23:09:56 GMT
For lighter crew modules, always have as many decks as possible (i.e. make them long and thin rather than short and fat).
The top choices for materials, in order from lightest to cheapest, are polyethylene, calcium, magnesium, and potassium (potassium needs to be thicker than 1 cm; the others don't).
Boron nitride is an option if you want some natural radiation resistance. Amorphous carbon is an option if you want it to be slightly more damage-resistant.
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ghgh
Full Member
Still trying to make kinetics work.
Posts: 136
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Post by ghgh on Aug 31, 2018 13:37:50 GMT
Calcium is the cheapest. Also provides some decent protection for the crew. Throw some C02 in there and you got yourself a turtle shell. Also, more decks is not always cheaper if you are packing armor on. If you use a propellant with low density, your tank will be wide and the crew compartment will use up unnecessary armor space. Although you have to consider which way the ship is engaging from. If it's a broadside engagement you will want a flat crew module (small targetable area from the side. If you are nose forward then long and skinny is the way to go. I try to get a 1:1 ratio of Diameter to Height to compensate for an inconsistent AI.
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Post by Apotheon on Sept 2, 2018 19:23:00 GMT
How realistic are these materials? Polyethylene is plastic... won't that become brittle or degrade or something in space, from vacuum, solar radiation, or the air on the inside, or soften from the internal pressure, or anything like that? I also cannot find any references to potassium as a construction material.
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Post by AtomHeartDragon on Sept 2, 2018 19:45:59 GMT
Potassium and calcium are insane. Magnesium should be fine although extremely scary in case of fire, magnesium alloys might be better in this regard.
PE or UHMWPE should be the sturdiest plastic when it comes to radiation resistance, but I don't know how well does it take space in general.
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Post by AdmiralObvious on Sept 2, 2018 21:06:55 GMT
How realistic are these materials? Polyethylene is plastic... won't that become brittle or degrade or something in space, from vacuum, solar radiation, or the air on the inside, or soften from the internal pressure, or anything like that? I also cannot find any references to potassium as a construction material. I mean, you can make plastic bottles, why can't you put a few crewmium units into it? Plastic deforms when heated (or poked too hard) but I don't see why you can't use it if it's thick enough. |
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