Hard Star: Progress Update

I have been floored by all the positive response!  I'm glad you're all as excited about this project as I am.

Before my update, allow me to apologize.  There have been a lot of well thought-out and complimentary comments languishing on my dashboard since the last post, and I've only today published them.  Thanks to all of you who commented, and I'm sorry it took so long to get to them.  Your comments do mean a lot to me, though my recent behavior suggests otherwise.

Moving forward, the next installment of Hard Star is taking longer than I had intended.  Fist of all, designing a spacecraft is a job of work no matter what.  Designing a spacecraft that could actually work even mores.  Designing a realistic spacecraft that looks like one out space opera...Rocketfans, it's not as easy as it looks..

But it's not impossible.  Presenting the Titan IV, interplanetary blockade runner and diplomatic courier:

This is actually not the final version

I'm sure you'll notice that the front end of the thing is much more reminiscent of the Radiant VII than the classic Corellian Corvette.  Honest, I just couldn't justify the hammer-head, cool as it is, on a ship built for speed.  I mean, it could be a centrifuge, but the mass penalty...

This is what I mean about designing realistic spacecraft that look like space opera ships.
Speaking of "design" the Titan IV is statted out - in real-world figures:
LENGTH: 150 METERS
DRY MASS: 699.5 tons
     STRUCTURE: 308.5 tons
     TANKAGE: 261.5 tons
     ENGINE MASS: 30 tons
     PAYLOAD: 100 tons
PROPELLANT MASS: 3087.63 tons
WET MASS: 3787.13 tons
MASS RATIO: 5
PROPULSION: 3x Tri-modal NTR rockets
EXHAUST VELOCITY (Triton x3): 16000 m/s
DELTA V: 25,751 m/s

That's enough change in velocity to send the Titan IV from Earth to Mars in a little under two months.  If you're willing to take a slow Hohmann orbit instead, then once you get close you can hit the gas and positively cook any local yokels trying to intercept you.  I mean that literally also- three NTRs make for a formidable spinal mount facing aft.

As always, thanks to Winchell Chung​ for the Atomic Rockets website - particularly the Basic and Advanced Design pages, the Engine List, and the Mission Table.  Thanks also to Isaak Kuo for pointing out that Titan IV is only good for short ranges.

For all of you Diaspora fans out there that have joined us, welcome.  I'm still fairly new to FATE based systems in general and Diaspora in particular, so bear with me as I learn the ropes.

Fortunately, Nat Sheppard is a much better hand with the Diaspora system than I and he has taken an interest in this project.  He has even made stats for all the Hard Star spacecraft I've designed so far, including the Titan IV :

Titan IV T1 Blockade Runner 11 bp
V-shift 2
Trade 2
EW 1
Hull [ ] [ ] [ ]
Data [ ] [ ] [ ]
Heat [ ] [ ] [ ]
Stunts,
 + Interface vehicle
 + Civilian (A military version exists with beam 2)
Aspects,
 + Blockade Runner
 + This is a consular ship, Were on a diplomatic mission!
 + If this is a consular ship, where is the Ambassador?
 + That's funny, the damage doesn't look as bad fro out here.
 + Are you sure this things safe?

If you like that, you should check out his blog...

That's all for now.  I still have to design TIE (Tactical Interceptor, Energy weapon) drones and the B-class capital ship Nebula for the next episode.  Back to work...