Make Warp-In Ships Buildable

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 10:20 pm

You would still need to hold the vessel still.  You don't want it to drift into the structure do you?

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 10:22 pm

You would still need to hold the vessel still.  You don't want it to drift into the structure do you?

Ever heard of tractor-beams and similar stuff that's used to hold things in place on Star Trek? 

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 10:24 pm

Wanna hold a ship still, you use a tractor beam. There's no law saying them must be visible.

Crap, ninja'd by Raven about the Tractors!

Although completing a vessel after it was already built up far enough to move or be moved to a different station doesn't imply it can build that much. Since the shape is optimized in fitting a Galaxy (Ambassador and Excelsior as well I assume) I'd rather say it makes final drafts and refitting stuff and also maintainance and repair.

Refitting old SF vessels could be a game-feature of it lateron.

'Systems completion and shakedown' was its contribution to Enterprise according to Memory Alpha.

MA has a picture of Utopia Planitia called A Galaxy class under construction at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards by a picture of one in a McKinley-type yard. The USS Sutherland was being refitted in an unnamed yard of the type, though.

[RedEyedRaven]

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 10:42 pm

Last edited by RedEyedRaven on January 2nd, 2011, 10:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Crap, ninja'd by Raven about the Tractors!
'Systems completion and shakedown' was its contribution to Enterprise according to Memory Alpha.

MA has a picture of Utopia Planitia called A Galaxy class under construction at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards by a picture of one in a McKinley-type yard.

MA also has a picture out of the episode "Booby Trap" which shows a Galaxy-class vessel in what appears to be a large interior of a yarding-dock at Utopia-Planitia; Since the holodeck-simulation was set in something like some years before the plot of that particular episode took place.





I assume it was moved to the McKinley station later.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 10:44 pm

You would still need to hold the vessel still.  You don't want it to drift into the structure do you?

that could be done by a thin umbilical. this is space, limited forces in effect.

a light anti grav field could stop the ship moving.

they might not even need anything to support it as the ship wouldnt drift (relative to the surrounding yard) unless a force acted upon it.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:17 pm

During construction, the ship is being pushed on in every direction.  The vessel would move unless it's restrained.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:23 pm

During construction, the ship is being pushed on in every direction.  The vessel would move unless it's restrained.

pushed by what? we dont know how starship construction works. it may be that the bits are replicated straight into place, in which case there wouldnt be a need for any pushing.

[Tyler]

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:25 pm

Last edited by Tyler on January 2nd, 2011, 11:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Maybe he means people welding the hull together? Even if parts are repilcated ot build on the surface, they would still need to be joined later.

Voyager showed a Galaxy Class under construction in a dock that had an incomplete half-skeleton saucer. At least some seem to be built in space.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:31 pm

Whatever you do to the ship, you're going to cause motion.  If you don't have anything to counter that motion, you're in big trouble.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:32 pm

Whatever you do to the ship, you're going to cause motion.  If you don't have anything to counter that motion, you're in big trouble.

Again; Tractor beams, gravitational fields and even force-fields could prove effective there. Also McKinley station, spacedock interiors and probably all yards have docking clamps and pylons...

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:37 pm

Whatever you do to the ship, you're going to cause motion. 

again, you cant prove that. if you pushed a metal bar into place, then yes. but we have absolutely no idea how starship production works. no idea at all. for all we know the yard is a giant replicator that slowly builds the ship. it sounds silly, but its possible.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:38 pm

That would be sufficient to keep the ship from moving.  But now you would need to prevent the station from moving too much.  Thrusters should be sufficient for that task as they can neutralize any rotation in the station and be used as a quick collision avoidance system.

Giant replicator.  I was thinking about using transporters.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:42 pm

thrusters arent exactly rocket science... o wait they are. but seriously, thrusters are pretty low tech for starfleet, so it wouldnt be hard to put a couple low strength thrusters on the ship in construction, to keep it steady.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:51 pm

I was talking about putting thrusters on the shipyard.  If the ship is anchored to the yard, then all you need to do is keep the yard steady.

posted on January 2nd, 2011, 11:53 pm

Stations use thrusters in canon, DS9 showed them in use.