The first rocketship built on Khazak is reusable. It can take off from inside a citadel and land outside it. Why could our scientists not do that? Is that what Musk is working towards?
The stranded Terrestrials, who had brought no technology with them, have taught the Iron Age Khazaki how to construct blaster cannons which spout flame and melt armor in their:
"...lightning-like discharges..." (p. 294)
Does that mean "electrical"? Is it possible to teach Iron Agers how to do anything like that?
The crux of this story is a three-sided problem between Masefield Carson, Masefield Ellen and Dougald Anson but we will reread the climax tomorrow. Anson, a potential series character, has fought and adventured in different parts of Khazak.
9 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Put like that it does seem somewhat implausible the humans stranded on Khazakh could achieve that much in only 50 Earth years or so. Perhaps up to the beginnings of rocket tech reached by pioneers like Tsiolkovsky in the early 1900's.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, Elon Musk might be working towards rockets that can take off into space and then land again without needing to split into "stages." That would be great!
Ad astra! Sean
Musk has certainly got reusable first stages, and is working on a fully reusable rocket -- whose upper stage is capable of interplanetary travel in some configurations, too. When that's done, SpaceX will rule the Solar System until others catch up -- which will take some time.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And that''s great news! I have read of how Musk/SpaceX plan to use the upper stage of Starship for getting to the Moon and Mars.
Now might be a good time to buy stock in SpaceX--if stock was being offered for sale! (Smiles)
And it would be good if other companies caught up with SpaceX. Tough competition is the best way to avoid technological stagnation.
Ad astra for real! Sean
I just started rereading the story 'Starship' in the collection of the same name.
On page 40
"The Khazaki were smaller than Terrestrials and lacked the sheer strength and endurance which Earth's higher gravity gave" Note: I think 'required' would be more accurate than 'gave'.
Lower gravity on Khazak should also mean less speed needed to reach orbit and the exponential factor in the rocket equation means much less propellent to reach orbit. So a Single Stage to Orbit rocket would be easier to build for Khazak than for Earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation
Note that Musk is talking about launching the upper stage of Starship directly from Luna or Mars after refuelling.
I will look for other hints about why a relatively primitive tech might be able to reach orbit.
Note also that the first stages of SpaceX rockets that *don't* reach orbit can take off from one spot and land at the same spot or another. So taking off from inside a citadel and landing outside it is much easier than reaching orbit.
Kaor, Jim!
"Gave" might still be appropriate. Humans who had been born on Khazakh would have a genetic tendency for greater strength and endurance than a species evolving on a lighter gravity world, but would not have the "practice" given by living on Earth.
Yes, I agree a lighter gravity planet means less fuel would be needed even for a fairly primitive rocket to reach orbit than on Earth.
And I love what Musk hopes to do with Starship!
I also thought of Jerry Pournelle's KING DAVID'S SPACESHIP, set in his Co-Dominium timeline. A long lost colonial planet (since the collapse of the Co-Dominium?) made a crash effort to build even a primitive spaceship, to meet the conditions required for First Class membership in the Second Empire of Man.
Ad astra! Sean
IIRC the planet in that story lost interstellar contact with the fall of the 1st Empire of Man. Also 1st class membership required having the Alderson Drive, and just being able to get into orbit got you 2nd class membership. A world too technologically primitive to get into orbit got an even lower status.
I suppose a world could be fairly high tech with electric grids etc, but no orbital rockets. It would make sense to have a few gradations below 2nd class. Even without orbital rockets, Prince Samual's World should have a higher status than Makkasar
Kaor, Jim!
Thanks for these corrections, which shows I need to reread KING DAVID'S SPACESHIP. Yes, IIRC, Prince Samual's World had rebuilt itself up to a 1950 level when the Second Empire expanded to it. I had completely forgotten that First Class status required a newly annexed worlds having the Alderson drive before being granted full civic equality in the Empire.
I think this categorizing of planets into First, Second, etc., Classes was the Empire's attempt to assimilate new planets into its realm gradually and with as little culture shock as possible.
Ad astra! Sean
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