On Mon, 24 Aug 2020 20:17:22 -0400, xxxxxx@gmail.com wrote:
>So are cases that would be covered be:
>
>- No Starport, No Spaceports
>- No Starport, Only Spaceports
>- Starport (1), No Spaceports
>- Starport (1), Spaceports
>- Starport and Secondary Starports, Spaceports
>(I have omitted Starport and Secondary Starports, No Spaceports only
>because any place that has that much Starport Traffic surely must have
>Spaceports....).
>When you say 'handles interstellar traffic', given a 100 ton ship can be a
>system ship or an interstellar ship, really means 'handles the
>legal/customs/immigration/health stuff that would not be as present on a
>spaceport' normally. Does that sound right?
Pretty much. Spaceports also probably _can't_ handle the larger starships,
physically; it'd be like trying to land a 747, DC-10, or L-1011 at a
smaller airport like HPN or ISP in the New York area - JFK, LGA, EWR, and
SWF would be "starports" to HPN and ISP's "spaceports". Either of the
latter _can_, if needed, handle international flights by smaller planes
(DC-9/MD-80 or smaller), by having the airport authorities call ICE and
explaining the situation (upon which CIS will send a team out to handle
their responsibilities), but they don't normally do so. (That is, I don't
believe that either HPN or ISP are designated as Airports of Entry, and
thus do not have ICE stationed on-airport. If either _is_ designated AoE,
they become "starports" that simply can't handle larger starships.)
>I figured that. And I agree with you re segregating port/yard facilities.
>Ports should strictly be the processing and movement of people and goods.
>Yards should be a different beast.
...and the distinction between "repair yard" and "construction yard" is
also a necessary one - any starport should probably have a minimal repair
yard associated with it, but construction facilities are a whole 'nother
beast, as would be a repair yard that can handle major repairs. (example:
If you land a plane at JFK and say "Gee, that left elevator is sticking,
and the right flap seems a little slow on extension", they should be able
to handle that without sending the plane elsewhere. Get a situation like
that Hawaiian Airlines plane that lost a chunk of fuselage, you're _not_
repairing that at the airport...)
>I also think yards maybe ought to have a maximum tonnage limit as well as a
>tech level limit for repairs and construction.
Absolutely, and I sorta stabbed at that in the article I referenced at the
beginning of the thread.
FWIW, I've been drawing analogies between airports and starports; that's
because airports are going to be more familiar generally. I suspect,
however, that analogies with _seaports_ might be closer...
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