On Fri, 4 Dec 2020 17:45:08 -0600, Charles Hensley - <xxxxxx@mac.com>
wrote:

[Quoting me]

>>> Most SF that I recall reading that uses spin gravity handles this problem
>>> by having a counter-rotating 'core', so that in the outside frame of
>>> reference there is a non-rotating portion of both station and ship, and you
>>> perform end-on (ship-end-to-station-end) docking with only the non-rotating
>>> portions coming into mutual contact. Passengers and cargo are also
>>> transferred through this non-rotating portion, in zero-g. Some complex
>>> mechanism to enable transfer between the rotating and non-rotating portions
>>> (a "gravity lock", analogous to an airlock) is necessary.

>>End to end docking limits it to a single ship docked at each end of the
>>station. If you are off axis then you have to add the Coriolis effect
>>(counter rotating) of both the ship and station. With the out ward adding
>>the effective gravity, the inward subtracting, and at 90 degrees getting a
>>significant side force for ships with a spin ring (lab ship). This would
>>work differently for a ship with modules on an extension, those could be
>>locked in a position to match station gravity (Babalon5).

No; the limitation would depend on the size of the counter-rotating hub.
Remember, in the _outside_ frame of reference (i.e. to approaching ships),
the counter-rotating hub is motionless, so you can have as many docking
ports as will fit - and all will be in zero-G.

>>Having the dock in zero-G (non-rotation) would solve this but would be
>>uncomfortable to landlubber passengers. This also moves many of the station
>>services to the rotation section away from the docks.

In this model, the docking section _is_ in zero-G, and yes, the
counter-rotating hub will basically be docking facilities only.

>>This problem goes away once grav tech is developed. Very small window for
>>some societies, long one for others. (T5 lists grav tech as one of the
>>technologies that some races/societies just cannot grasp.) I just want to
>>have this small window defined before moving on with the project.

You'll need to make it up, since we currently have _zero_ examples, even in
fiction, to use as a baseline.

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