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+--- Thread: Hello --- Orbital transfer stations, transport network and First Lego League (/showthread.php?tid=251)
Hello --- Orbital transfer stations, transport network and First Lego League - Ant - 09-22-2018
Hi,
I am excited to find other people that are enthusiastic about building a simulation game that emphasizes:
- Space colonization in orbit using resources from asteroids rather than focusing on planets.
- An emphasis on realistic design (physics and engineering).
- Modelling economics (budget, trade) and population growth dynamics
- Educational uses that inspire a new generation of space engineers
- ways to experiment and see what works better
I hope that being part of this community may let me contribute to the development of some of these ideas.
There are several topics that I find particularly interesting and that I would like to try once I get to know the game better.
Orbital transfer station:
Active control of transfer stations orbits that are marginally stable (like Lagrange point orbits, Lunar parking orbits and Earth-Moon transfer orbits) can provide significant benefits to economy of the station, the travelers and cargo that pass through it and the trading and transportation network that can be built with several types of stations. Some of these benefits are:
- Some energy and momentum can be harvested for "free" from the Moon or the Earth's orbit.
- "free" energy storage in the orbit can reduce the weight and cost of batteries and power sources.
- Energy and momentum can be accumulated slowly and released in a spurt by launching (or capturing) shuttles and cargo
- Large stations can provide significant Delta-V boosts to smaller shuttles and cargo (saving not only fuel but tank and engine costs as well).
- Stations that exchange energy and momentum with incoming and outgoing traffic can balance these over time creating an economic boost to the whole transportation network.
Large rotating stations that serve as "elevators":
Concepts like Rotovator and a Cislunar transportation system can provide cheap access between an Earth-Moon transfer orbit, the Lunar surface and interplanetary travel. I would like to try a few simulations to see how hard it would be to create such a network and to fine tune the details for each of its components.
First Lego league (FLL)
I have been an FLL judge in tens of competitions for many years. Every years I see dozens of groups of gifted kids (10 kids in each group) that spend many days and nights developing research projects for the competition. The topic for the competition varies from year to year, this year's FLL research topic is "Into Orbit". Kids that learn how to use games like Kerbal Space Program and High Frontier to develop and demonstrate their projects will have an edge in the competition so this is an excellent opportunity for this community to grow.
RE: Hello --- Orbital transfer stations, transport network and First Lego League - JoeStrout - 09-22-2018
Welcome! Those are some really great ideas!