Mini SD-newsletter

[T.L.G.vanderLinden@student.utwente.nl (Timothy van der Linden)]

Subject: Pre-loading the decell track
Author : Timothy
ReplyTo: Kelly

>Ok, how do you get the decel fuel in the Target star systems decel track, and
>at an acceptable speed?  To get their befor the ship it would have to be
>going at relativistic speeds.  But if its going that fast, the ship couldn't
>catch its decel fuel.   i.e. the ship would slow down, but the fuel wouldn't.

Another way to get it at the target before the Asimov is to send it there
before the Asimov is started. What I mean is that the slowest fuel-packets
will be send from Earth many years before the Asimov starts moving to TC.
These early packets have low speeds and thus take a long time to get to TC.
Faster packets which will be catched up by the Asimov first will be send
last but still before the Asimov has started. So now there is a long track
of packets all at decreasing speeds. All these packets are moving towards TC
and so is the Asimov, but the Asimov moves a little bit faster than the
fastest moving packet and "near" TC it catches up with that packet. After
catching that packet the Asimov slows down a bit, but not too much, so that
it can catch up with the next packet which moved slower than the packet just
catched. This process repeates many times, untill the Asimov has an
reasonable slow velocity.

Because all packets are launched before the Asimov starts we call it a
PRE-load track. Now the trick is to have all packets at the right place at
the right time and at the right speed. This surely would be possible if we
could aim our lineac at Sol precise enough. Of course there is a minimum
limit speed for the slowest and first package: The slower it moves the
earlier it has to be send to TC. If we would need real slow packets we would
need sending them now already.

OK, I hope this is clear, if not, ask me once more.

Timothy