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[OP] 127 views 0 replies Posted by Unknown 9 years ago Mar 29, 2:49 am forums.robertsspaceindustries.com
Hello there!

I want to create a long range lab starship and I have the idea of what I want the ship to be. However, I am terrible at concept art and I need some concept drawings and layouts to start modeling the ship off of. Below is a general concept of what I would like the ship to have, but feel free to use creative licence if you think something doesn't make sense. I really appreciate any help you can provide, even if you just want to suggest a tweak in the design.

SC Lab Vessel

Basic Premise and Background
Scientific (Lab tech and Biology)
Size: Medium/Large

Functions:
Provide a mobile medical and research lab for planets, outposts, and stations which do not have adequate facilities to deal with more specialized tasks such as a biological or chemical threat. The lab can also be used to collect, cultivate, and study alien flora and fauna. Which can then be sold to research companies.
Because of its specialized task, the ship contains an advanced computer core to store medical data. As a side effect of the processing power the computer has for lab work, in combat, this would translate into increased power balancing and redirection efficiency. This is because the computer can handle the automatic systems with greater speed than a less capable system.
The ship is a respectable size, of course with all the specialized equipment and the lab taking up a fair amount of room in the middle-front of the ship. However the ship is small enough to fit through smaller and more questionable jump points with the help of a beefed up NaviComputer.
The Drives and engines on the ship are built to be as efficient as possible, not fast. The ship is powered by a decently sized reactor, however, it also has a kind of solar sail that can be extended to power the ship while in space or in orbit so as to conserve fuel on longer runs or longer research missions in deep space.
There are two separate artificial gravity generators on the ship, one for the crew quarters and utility areas, and one for the lab. This is so null-g experiments can be performed without interrupting regular ship functions and piloting.
As for weapons, the ship is armed with computer controlled turrets that can also be controlled from the security station. The security station also has an armory that has vac suits rated for class-8 (Plasmic and chemically unstable) chemical hazard zones and materials.
The cockpit has a pilot, copilot, navigator, and dedicated science station that links directly to the lab for constant monitoring of experiments.
Directly behind the cockpit is the crew quarters, which has quarters for a crew of 6. A pilot, copilot, navigator/turret gunner, security chief/gunner, and room for two optional scientists. However, the entire ship can be flown by a pilot and the shipboard computer in an emergency.
The ships computer core is built into the security room inside of a specially shielded compartment.
The ship should be sleek with clean, precise lines in keeping with its scientific nature.

Note: Feel free to take the retractable solar panels in any direction you wish. I toyed around with the idea of making them double as an ion propulsion system, but I don't know how feasible this is in the SC lore.

Another Note: Constructive criticism is appreciated, as long as you can provide a reason for it!