JOURNEY OF A COMMANDER PART 24
24 Oct 2022Ni6h70wl
10.01.3308 - Novara Expedition Day 109_10.01.2022_13_25_57.png)
"What the?" escaped me as this huge star appeared at the end of the hyperspace jump.
"Scan running..., an S2IIIab type carbon star. Solar mass 1.27 and an incredible 33 solar radii. That would put the star in Sol up to half the orbit of Mercury." My first officer excitedly informed me. "According to the computer data, we are the first discoverer, congratulations."
My joy, was indeed huge, Juenio EY-P d6-5063 A is my first undiscovered carbon star.
Carbon stars are a class of their own, forming in the later stages of star formation. The S-type is the coldest of the carbon stars, as our giant has a surface temperature of just 3,356 Kelvin.
S star (carbon star)
An S-type star (or simply S-star) is a cool giant with approximately equal amounts of carbon and oxygen in its atmosphere. The class was originally defined by Paul Merrill in 1922 for stars with unusual absorption lines and molecular bands that are now known to be due to elements of the S process. The spectral lines of zirconium monoxide (ZrO) are a characteristic feature of S stars.
Carbon stars have more carbon than oxygen in their atmospheres. In most stars, such as the M giants, the atmosphere is richer in oxygen than in carbon and they are called oxygen-rich stars. S-type stars lie between carbon stars and normal giants. They can be divided into two classes: intrinsic S stars, which owe their spectra to the convection of fusion products and elements of the S process to the surface, and extrinsic S stars, which are formed by mass transfer in a binary system.
The inner S stars are located on the most luminous part of the asymptotic giant branch, a life phase lasting less than a million years. Many of them are long-period variable stars. Extrinsic S stars are less luminous and more long-lived, often smaller amplitude, crescent-shaped or irregularly variable. S-stars are relatively rare, with intrinsic S-stars making up less than 10% of the stars in the asymptotic giant branch with comparable luminosity, while extrinsic S-stars make up an even smaller fraction of all red giants.
There are no carbon stars in star-forming regions or young open clusters. Therefore, it is assumed that carbon atoms form in the late stages of stellar evolution.
After the system was detected with the full-spectrum system scanner, we jumped further north.
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That same day we discovered the system Phaa Free LD-K d8-1627.
A beautiful system, a terraformable high-metallic world, a non-terraformable water world and the pearl of the system, an Earth-like world.
The conditions on Planet A 4 are ideal for life, the oxygen content is a bit low but you can still last for some time without supplementary oxygen.
"Size and gravity are really very Earth-like, what do you think about us landing this time?" my first officer looked at me questioningly.
"Oh, all of a sudden now? And the planets before that?"
"A break would do us all good, the crew and both of us."
"COVAS preparing for atmospheric landing, surface pressure above 2 atm."
---Confirm, landing sequence initiated---
In accordance with the necessary parameters, the Novara began its approach to land. After only a few minutes it left orbit and touched down in the area of an overgrown plateau.
We decided to stay on this planet for a good week. The time could be used to carry out any repairs to the layers of the ship's hull so that it would not tear us apart too quickly.
Hull
The hull is one of the most important components of a ship, along with the fusion power plant. Each hull is designed to retain its structure despite damage. However, if the damage is too great and this structure value reaches 0%, the ship will fall apart and explode.
The ship's hull consists of a double-walled bulkhead of composite armour to prevent the penetration of impactors and radiation.
Composite armour consists of different layers of material, each of which can absorb, reflect or neutralise different types of kinetic and energetic impacts. Each layer can be specialised for different types of space-based interactions and used as modular panels that can be replaced relatively easily.
Each ship has its own hull mass and hull hardness; the smaller a ship, the less thick the hull can be configured. In addition, hull reinforcements can supplement the standard hull, as well as module reinforcements, to increase internal protection.
All ships currently available for purchase come with a Light Alloy as standard, this and all other alloys have the following structure:
- Outer most layer - Ablative to dissipate high temperature radiation and slow down impactors. This layer consists of tungsten plates with a silicone carbide and titanium boride coating. In addition, a layer is applied that acts as an infrared reflector.
- Secondary layer - A double layer of carbon phenol which is filled in between with silicate aerogel and due to its low thermal conductivity prevents the radiant heat from reaching the interior of the ship. In addition, the silicate aerogel slows down penetrating projectiles or stops them altogether.
- Tertiary layer - Explosive reactive armour to reduce the effectiveness of explosives (rockets, torpedoes, mines) and deflect projectiles that have penetrated the other layers. This layer is CMM composite, consisting of carbon with titanium boride alloy in an aluminium matrix.
- Innermost layer - hull with heavy metal alloys for structure and to absorb large amounts of radiation. This layer, also forms the ship's hull and consists of a flexible steel mixture of iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, titanium and aluminium. This mixture was already known as maraging steel 1000 years ago and has only been minimally modified over time.
The inner structural layer is mostly solid - it forms the actual hull of the ship. Because of the reactive armour and ceramics, an impact or detonation strong enough will weaken or disable a particular panel or area of panels, requiring their replacement. Repair control drones can alleviate this problem somewhat and repair damage.
The glazing of the ships consists of a layer of chalcogenide glass to deflect heat radiation, then several layers of quartz glass to deflect cosmic rays. Between the last two layers of quartz glass are special liquid crystals which, like sunglasses, reduce the glare of the stars while still guaranteeing a clear view.
The reinforced alloy increases the hull resistance by 40% and, depending on the size of the ship, also its weight. The various layers here are somewhat thicker. The improved structure and joints provide enhanced resistance to all types of attacks.
The military composite alloy increases the hull resistance by a full 94.5% and is twice as heavy as the reinforced alloy. Here, additional special composites have been used, which are exclusively used by military vessels. The Hardened structure and joints provide excellent protection against all types of attack.
The Mirrored Surface Composite Alloy is the same weight as the Military Alloy and also provides the same multiplier on hull total strength, yet the hull is more vulnerable to kinetic attacks. This specially designed structure offers superior resistance to thermal damage at the expense of vulnerability to kinetic attack.
The Reactive Surface Composite alloy is also the same weight as the Military alloy and also has the same multiplier. It is the most expensive alloy and offers very good resistance despite its thermal weakness. This specially developed structure offers greater resistance to kinetic damage at the expense of vulnerability to thermal attack.
Of course, the individual modifications by the engineers can be discussed here, but that would go beyond the scope and will be dealt with later.