Locking an old spaceship from the outside?
I know it may be a bit of a silly question and not really something of great importance to a story, but how would you secure a spaceship when you leave?
For example; when the Millennium Falcon lands on a planet (not in a hangar bay or anywhere secure but just "in the middle of a forest/desert/wherever") and Han and Chewie exit to explore the planet (leaving the ship unmanned), how would they lock the Falcon to ensure no one could steal it?
The nature of a "best answer" would have to fall into the following constraints:
The ship would be parked somewhere in the open without security/guards/fences - so couldn't be left unlocked/open and would therefore need to be secured completely.
The ship is old, so before a sophisticated AI system would be installed (although the ship is old, it does have an onboard computer system for navigation etc., but much more in the style of the Millennium Falcon - so you can't physically talk to it/doesn't respond to voice commands).
Would need to be fool-proof enough so that the crew using the ship could gain access (if all the crew had exited the ship and "locked" it) - this would eliminate keys/remotes because if half of the group are captured/lost and have the key/remote, the other half will be effectively locked out of the ship. Also during battle a key/remote could be lost or damaged. It also wouldn't be practical to hand out 10 keys/remotes to all crew members.
It would need to be something that could be accessed by anyone in the crew but not necessarily by a stranger (so not just a big red button that locks/unlocks from the outside)
If a control panel on the exterior (or something similar) - what type of power source would it need in order to open/close a ship that is basically turned off/powered down/unmanned? As mentioned above AI wouldn't be able to assist, would there be auxiliary power to lock/unlock the door (would that be mechanically possible?).
Could facial/retina/voice recognition or biometrics work in a Millennium Falcon-type ship for locking/unlocking or is that too sophisticated considering the absence of a "talking AI" and only a primitive onboard computer?
Sorry, I'm new here, so apologies if I'm asking the "wrong type of question" if so any help on where I can ask this question would be greatly appreciated :)
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/137033. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1 answer
Get a lockbox.
These things are sturdy and not something you could break open with a hammer. You have better tech than modern-day Earth though, so you can use even stronger materials. Something that a circular saw couldn't cut.
While this box only has about 1000 possible combinations, you could easily make one with more. You can also make it any size you need.
This way, no one can lose the key. They just have to remember the combination (and not leak it to anyone else). I'd put up several boxes so, if someone uses it to get in the ship and forgets to put the key back in the box, you're good.
These things are 100% mechanical too. No electronics to break down or run out of power.
Or get a door lock that takes codes directly.
This requires adding in some electronics. This one has different codes for up to 100 users. Why? So you can delete individual codes that have been leaked, or for people who have died or deserted.
With some systems, it will tell you which code was used to enter at a certain time. So if there is a break in, you can pinpoint which person is responsible (either because they gave away the code or because it was an inside job).
Your power source on the electronic locks is a battery. No reason in the world they wouldn't last a good 10 years, like the battery on my smoke detector or a quality watch. Or make it a rechargeable battery. The act of pushing keys or turning the doorknob could recharge it. Or a solar panel. It wouldn't need very much since it's a tiny bit of power and it's not used all that often. I think we can assume that batteries and chargers would be more sophisticated in a time that had spaceships like these.
Have locks on more than one level.
Put a lock on the outside door. Then one for the cockpit. Then another for the ignition. You might have a break-in now and again, but they won't be able to steal the ship.
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