Spacecraft Recovery

Getting stuck in Outer Space sucks –vacuum-pun not intended.

 

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Table of Contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Types
  3. Locations
  4. Usual
  5. Notable
  6. Example/Conceptual Images

 

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Introduction:

Tow-trucks and tugboats on Earth have evolved into the specialized emergency recovery & assistance craft now used across most of colonized Space.  Anywhere there is frequent Space traffic, you are likely to find them.  They are particularly present in large shipyards, mining operations, Space docks, and the aftermath of major orbital battles.

Remember all those worrisome scenes in movies which depicted the fateful/uncertain situations anytime daring astronauts pioneered faraway from any possible help/rescue, then something went wrong and they had to scramble to fix it on their own before it killed them?  Most people out in Space these days don’t risk/tolerate that anymore; we/they make sure that help can be called and relied upon before we go anywhere.  Space stuff is important and expensive, after all; why risk it –and your very life– by going beyond the range of those who can assist/support you?

Tow/tug/wrecking/salvage is one of the most important industries there is, in Space and planet-side, and probably will be for a very long time, maybe forever.

 

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Types:

  • Salvage / ‘Scavengers’:  medium-size Spacecraft sent to strip and haul away parts or sections of other Spacecraft
  • Towing:  for Titan-class:  large-size Spacecraft sent to hold and guide giant Spacecraft
  • Tug-boats:  small Spacecraft sent to nudge and assist in the steering of still-operational large Spacecraft
  • Vehicular / ‘Planet-side’:  sometimes Space-worthy vehicles intended for driving on terrain; some are like normal tow-trucks, others the ‘beefier’ variety which can operate in no-atmosphere environments –such as on un-terraformed worlds and big asteroids
    –Some planet-side vehicles in this industry are big enough to drive off with fallen BattleMechs, or float off on the oceans with an entire ship or even an oil platform on them, etc.
  • ‘Wreckers’:  smaller Spacecraft sent to systematically destroy sensitive components of other Spacecraft

* Any sizable ship with a capable engine can serve as a tug-boat of sorts.  Merchant Marine ships, some military ships, and large civilian tanker and cargo ships can, but it is recommended one wait for official responder services instead of tipping the nearest free-lancer.

 

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Locations:

Space-docks always have multiple tugboats as QRF.

Like with any towing company, the farther from their hometown/HQ you are, the more expensive and less likely it will be that they can get to you.

 

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Usual:

Towing is pretty much always to the nearest repair facility, whether that is to a Space station, capable vessel, or something else.

Tugging is either for when larger vessels cannot make precise-enough maneuvers in port / near expensive devices, or when their engines/thrusters would cause too much of a wake (in water or Space) until they are at a minimum safe distance from certain things (such as structures or tourists), though it can also be done to help vessels experiencing engine trouble.

Derelicts are sometimes towed to where they can be repaired, other times stripped (where they lie/drift) by salvage.

Some ships are purposefully made into derelicts by wreckers, not unlike sending a crane to swing a wrecking ball to knock parts of a building down.

When the vessel/vehicle requesting services (back out into Space) is planet-side, a cargo-craft such as a drop-ship will almost always need to deploy/land to get it, unless a mobile mechanic/team is confident they can get it flyable on-site.

 

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Notable:

  1. One of the best recovery/salvage organizations was known as the UFO Retrieval Team (UFORT); not only were they always very quick to any scene/crash, and extremely thorough at spotting and safely transporting every little piece, they were experts at making it look like nothing had ever crashed/landed there.
  2. Some of the best at salvage, towing, tugging, and wrecking are the ICs; Inisfreean vessels can’t take damage, are the most sophisticated A.I., have extremely precise tractor beams, many years of experience, portals tech’, and more.
    They can even tow worlds and stars, and have hangars big enough for planets the size of the Earth.

 

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Example/Conceptual Images:

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(pardon the 32sec clip showing the pharma-parrots wearing retard-masks)

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