Saturn Ships

[Werner]

You know you could create versions of the standard Traveller starships that are designed to exclusively operate within the atmosphere of Saturn, they will be tech level 8 designs, and we'll assume this is before artificial gravity was invented or the jump drive or the reactionless maneuver drive. What we got instead are reaction drives powered by fusion reactors that use the gases in that atmosphere for fuel and reaction mass.

We can keep the floor plans for most of the traveller ships except for the wheel shaped lab ship, the hulls will have to have streamlining and need fuel intakes and processors. People will live in floating structures within the atmodphere, some are held up by hot hydrogen balloons heated by fusion reactors, others are flying wings using fusion torch drives for propulsion to maintain lift or are used directly as pillars of flame pointed downward to hold it aloft. The time this takes place it would be the late 21st century, but more likely the 22nd century.

 

[BackworldTraveller]

others are flying wings using fusion torch drives for propulsion to maintain lift or are used directly as pillars of flame pointed downward to hold it aloft.

You could, but the chemical reactions triggered by these heat inputs would really be a real mess...and the atmosphere wouldn't be static free so you'd have to lightning-proof the drives...and most of the designs have only one engine so shutdown for maintenance would be disastrous. And every time you cycle the airlock you get a whole collection of nasty, flammable and smelly gasses mixing.

The theory is good, but the practice would need a bit of tweaking.

 

[whartung]

How do you sustainably and safely keep the ships aloft long term is such a, I would assume, hostile environment.

One blip of power and you're getting G sucked in to the core of the planet. These ships are "flying", not in "orbit". Really different problem.

 

[Werner]

Capital ships hangar the smaller ships, the larger ones tend to be airships that float by keeping the hydrogen sacks warmer that the outside atmosphere, and Saturn's atmosphere is very cold! Room temperature would be considered "hot" by comparison. Internal life supported compartments are overdressed so the leak out instead of in.