-Larry Niven, Afterthoughts IN Niven, Tales Of Known Space (New York, 1975), pp. 221-223 AT p. 221.
Four stories published in the 1960s describe the exploration of Mercury, Venus, Pluto and Mars in the period, 1975-2000. These four stories introduce Niven's Known Space future history of which he wrote in 1975:
"It ends with Ringworld." (p. 222)
There are now nine novels where there was previously one Ringworld novel. See Comparing Future Histories.
In Poul Anderson's Technic History, one story published in 1981 describes the exploration of Iapetus in the mid-twenty-first century. It is followed by two stories about later extrasolar planetary exploration. Anderson's more advanced idea for exploration within the Solar System was - instead of small manned spacecraft - large solar-sail-powered mobile colonies able to send smaller craft down to planetary surfaces.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Darn, I missed that in my previous readings of "The Saturn Game," that large space ships designed to be lived in for years by many people were powered by solar power. I would have thought using nuclear powered engines would be a quicker means of propulsion.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Sean!
Nuclear power might be quicker (might give higher acceleration, to be more precise), but a nuclear reactor would have to be used to expel reaction mass somehow, in order to send the spaceship in the opposite direction. That means carrying reaction mass to accelerate, and then decelerate, or match orbital velocities. For a spaceship big enough for hundreds of people to live in for years, and to carry along shuttles to land on Saturn’s moons, etc., that could mean a large amount of reaction mass indeed. Solar sails might give a lower acceleration, and could pose other difficulties, but they would enable delta v (change in velocity) without the need for reaction mass other than the solar photons and solar wind particles themselves.
Best Regards,
Nicholas
Kaor, Nicholas!
Many thanks for your scientifically informed comments. Then I have to conclude that for the purposes of travel within the Solar System, using pre-hyperdrive means, the methods you outlined would be the most practical ones likely to be available for large spaceships.
I would still say smaller nuclear power plants, of the kind in use for US Navy carriers, would likely be used for the internal power needs of the space ship seen in "The Saturn Game."
Regards and ad astra! Sean
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