/sci/ - Science & Math

>>9672514
RULE 1: Spaceships should not have an "up-down" line at right angles to the direction of thrust! Star Wars, Star Trek, and most videogames and movies violate this rule. They all look like WW2 battleships with jets tacked on. And small "fighters" look like WW2 airplanes.

They all require magic "gravity generators" under the floor, "acceleration compensators" so everyone isn't pinned to the rear bulkheads, and most craft would spin like pinwheels when the engines fired. They ought to be reasonably symmetrical around the thrust-axis with decks at right angles to the line-of-drive.

If rockets, there ought to be fuel tanks showing. Engines are heavy. You don't need them pointing in all directions so you can weave and jink. You orient the whole ship with reaction-control thrusters (plenty of time) and then fire the main engines.

The "Camden Lock" was designed as a joke. It's essentially a famous telecommunications tower thrown into space. Nonetheless, it's saner than 99% of fictional spacecraft.