[TML] Low tech space travel

[Richard Aiken]

On 8/24/07, Anthony Jackson <ajackson at iii.com> wrote:
>
> Richard Aiken wrote:
> > Have you read the Space: 1889 rules?  Spaceships in that game used a
> solar
> > boiler - a big mirror focusing sunlight on a steel water tank - to
> provide
> > steam for the steam engine powering it's ether drive.  Of course, it
> also
> > wasn't an incredibly realistic setting (liftwood, anyone?) so I'm not
> sure
> > if this would actually work.
>
> It certainly won't work in interstellar space.


Yah.  But he was talking about powering the jump drive, not flying between
stars with it.  He'd still be fairly close to the system's sun, if he's
lifting off from an earthlike world via dirigible.  Of course, he'd need
batteries or something like that while *in* jump space.  Assuming he's
keeping the highly-important "week in jump" aspect of Traveller (which it
sounds like he is, with his question about life support).

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein