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fmilluminati — the last ELS, low mars orbit
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Published: 2014-05-18 08:08:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 1812; Favourites: 38; Downloads: 71
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Description
Completed the WIP from my last submission.This is the last "ELS" - external latticework spacecraft - kind of like a 2100's equivalent of the last sailing ship. External latticework is a design philosophy where spacecraft built to not to land on a planet's surface would have a visible, unskinned external skeleton, typically to save weight. This philosophy is followed for about 100 years, until improvements in engine technology and materials science make 'skinning' a spacecraft [and the extra protection that offers] a cost viable proposition. On later ELS designs [such as the one pictured] shielding is mounted over the lattice to provide some protection to interior sections, a half-measure on the road to completely 'skinned' spacecraft.
This spacecraft is designed for combat and armed with 48 nuclear tipped missiles and two multipurpose quad rail-guns. It belongs to the IUC [Independent United Colonies of Mars] and is one of two built in this type.
Spacecraft launched 2114, photographed here in 2118
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Comments: 4
Surely an uncovered lattice would still be used widely but with stronger materials? 'every gram counts' and all that.
A skinned lattice is nonetheless something I have in my own world building as an early innovation, but I am leaning towards more lightweight designs for Oort Cloud explorers and cheap drone craft.
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Nice work. I really like the background text. It somewhat reminds me of the early-ish decades of aircraft and tanks. Military biplanes were being used up until WWII. The 'technology' for metal fuselages was already established but the fabric fuselage planes could still compete, albeit with a handicap.
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Thanks! That's what I was going for - I think it's important when creating something for a 'plausible' future to consider the history of design and how it might evolve into the future. I consider myself somewhat of an amateur futurist and I've dedicated a substantial portion of my free time to the study of astronomy, the physics and engineering behind space travel, and the many paths future designers might take in creating spacecraft to take us to the stars.
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