			    TRAVELLER Digest 165

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Traveller WWW page	by Goeran Damberg <goeran@enterprise>
  2) Best way to move asteroids...	by Alvin Plummer <plummera@SHERIDANC.ON.CA>
  3) Re: TRAVELLER digest 163	by aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
  4) Re: Best way to move asteroids...	by merrick@RT66.com (Merrick Burkhardt)

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Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 09:19:56 +0100 (MET)
From: Goeran Damberg <goeran@enterprise>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: Traveller WWW page
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950117091524.1749A-100000@enterprise>


Hi

I've been working on a www page devoted to Traveller thepast week, and 
now its up at:

http://enterprise.shv.hb.se/~goeran/Traveller/

So far it does'nt contain very much just a few files I found at 
ftp.engrg.uwo.ca . I plan to add more however...


goeran

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Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 14:37:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <plummera@SHERIDANC.ON.CA>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Best way to move asteroids...
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.950116203035.11693A-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


Over at xboat, there's quite a discussion on rock-throwing for military 
purposes.

My question for this group: what is the best, most cost-efficent way to 
move rocks in system during peacetime: 

Jump Drives?                  Fusion Drive?
Solar Sail's?                 HEPlaR?                  Ion?

My personal bet is solar sails, since it's free and probably the least 
costly (by FAR).  The only down-side I can see is the long travel times 
needed to move, say a 20 km-diameter asteroid. (no numbers to calculate 
mass, right now...)

I'm assuming that - if you can move the rock cheaply enough - it's 
definitely less costly to mine it in orbit around the mainworld rather 
than out in the dark.

An associated question: is there any non-violent reason why a megacorp would 
want to move a rock quickly?   


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvin Plummer
"Preserve what we created, Norris, and remember what we stood for."
                               - Strephon, 179-1126


Reply to: alvin.plummer@SHERIDANC.ON.CA

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Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 20:05 GMT
From: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Cc: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk
Subject: Re: TRAVELLER digest 163
Message-ID: <memo.943893@cix.compulink.co.uk>

In-Reply-To: <199501160409.XAA20586@Ambassador.MPGN.COM>


  > From: Rob_Prior@nynet.nybe.north-york.on.ca (Rob Prior) To:
  >  
  > The Rafm figures (or at least some of them) are out.  I picked up the
  > Aslan Mercenaries and Coalition Marines.  Not bad, although the
  > Marines must be runts inside that armour (unless the armour is both
  > thin and tight). 

Ah. They must be taking the scenic route over here...

  > Could someone post/send me the address of Denizen?  Local shops carry
  > nothing but official TSR miniatures, so I have to order my science
  > fiction from the manufacturer. 

I can't find the address of Denizen themselves, but in the US, try:

Stone Mountain Miniatures
Dept CG
Box 594
Broomfield
CO 80038

(see ad in Challenge#70, p84)

and in the UK:

Ground Zero Games
"Fizno"
Barking Tye
Needham Market
Suffolk
IP6 8JB

(see Valkyrie#4, p40)

GZG stock Denizen figures, plus their own range, plus some nice 25mm resin
vehicles. These are also available in the US from:

GEO-HEX,
2126 N. Lewis
Portland
OR 97227

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Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 13:32:58 -0700 (MST)
From: merrick@RT66.com (Merrick Burkhardt)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Best way to move asteroids...
Message-ID: <9501172032.AA24459@RT66.com>

> Over at xboat, there's quite a discussion on rock-throwing for military 
> purposes.
> 
> My question for this group: what is the best, most cost-efficent way to 
> move rocks in system during peacetime: 
> 
> Jump Drives?                  Fusion Drive?
> Solar Sail's?                 HEPlaR?                  Ion?
> 
> Alvin Plummer

HEPlaR isn't an option (it isn't a particularly effective way of moving even a
ship these days :)  One thing to remember is that ion and sails have the 
advantage of constant thrust, but that that thrust will be very low.  Even a 
small ship could give a rock a decent push into a lower energy transfer orbit
without too much trouble (1g accel is *big*, and even a tenth of a g ain't
too shabby).

A bunch of seekers could work together to give it some delta v, then meet it
at the return end to brake and orbit it (assuming a peaceful use).

Regarding their wartime use, I think that unless the goal (and result) was total
destruction, they would be part of any big bombardment ifit is easier to do than
"normal" bombardment.  Total warfare would be met in kind, and thus there is 
detante (IMO).  Leaving it as a possibility makes for neat plot lines anyway
:)

While on the subject of drives, what about SDBs these days?  Without *much* more
fuel (delta v) they can't operate they way they should/did historically.  The
max delta v possible is something like 200 BL hexes/turn assuming the ship is
all fuel, this isn't enough to keep reasonable trip times for SDBs if they are
to engage in hit and run tactics.  Maybe they could have combo HEPlaR/fusion
drives that only use the HEPlaR near planets, and use an efficient fusion drive
(giving a few hundred hexes delta v) for deep space travel.  A way to prevent
a starship/SDB arms race drive wise would be to say that there is a maximun
relative velocity (relative to systemwide particulate matter (which compared to
ship velocities would be more or less fixed)) before Lanthium jump grids get
ablated by micro-meteorites and solar protons, etc.  This would allow the SDBs
some reason not to have jump drives (otherwise they should be jump 1 for 
in system travel).

-Merrick

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End of TRAVELLER Digest 165
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