How would interplanetary transits take place with a "space compressing" system?
I have a fictional technology in my world that involves being able to create "tubes of compressed space" -- essentially, you have two stations and a (straight or curved) line of space between them that take much less time to traverse in distance.
I'm interested in figuring out how to integrate this technology with interplanetary (and inter-space-station) transit, since it would still take lots of effort to create the necessary delta-V to navigate orbits and such.
Assume that the "compression-tube" technology is only outright fictional technology required, though they have better technology than 2015 in many respects, like far more advanced computer systems.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/10387. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
Here's a starting point: the Interplanetary Transport Network (ITN):
Artistically gratuitous representation. Not to be taken literally. The green swoops are odd and potentially unimportant.
The ITN is a series of "pathways" throughout the solar system emanating from and disappearing into the Lagrange points of various two-body systems. It just so happens that certain trajectories take very little fuel, if you're up for traveling to certain locations. It's fast, easy, and takes very little energy from the spacecraft travelling through it.
Sounds kind of like your idea, doesn't it? And it is. So your idea is plausible, and can be implemented by simply changing some parts of the ITN. I'm not sure how to work in the electricity-creating-tubes ideas, but you could use magnetic fields to influence the path of the spacecraft. Okay, these will have to be really strong, and they would have to be in lots of places, but they could modify the ITN by maneuvering the spacecraft in different ways.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads