Re: TVTrope's Infodump page

::: Intercepting things in deep space doesn't work. The relative
::: velocities are going to be too different. You'll just zoom past
::: each other.

:: That's why NASA and the Russians are totally unable to dock with the
:: space station, of course.

: David Johnston <david@xxxxxxxxx>
: The space station is not a ship, does not accelerate, and is not in
: deep space. They dock with it by approaching it from behind and
: relying on it not to make the slightest change in course.

Nevertheless, if you have plenty of delta-v, then boarding ships for
inspection is not all that much more difficult in space than on the ocean.
You say "let us board or we fry you", they stop accelerating and changing
course, you dock and board. Pretty much the same thing as at sea.
Or, supertanker-vs-somali-pirate wise, if your cargo ships are so large
they have only a small fraction of a g acceleration without the ability
to quickly change the direction of acceleration, while your gunboats
have several g, you can treat the ship as stationary, pretty much.
Sure, at sea you could also use grappling hooks once you got close,
have boarding parties jump across even if opposed, etc, etc, etc.
But all those things are, in principle do-able in space also.

Of course, in *practical* terms, delta-v is very like to be fairly far
away from "plentiful", you can's just throw a grapple and go swinging
across bramdishing cuttlery. Yet small EVA pods with penetration aids
aren't exactly against any laws of physics.

But bottom line, for any forseeable tech short of fusion torchships
or better, delta-v isn't going to be plentiful, and boarding not all
that practical. Interdiction on threat of becoming somewhat vaporous
seems much more likely to occur.


Wayne Throop throopw@xxxxxxxxx http://sheol.org/throopw
.

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