In this, the third and final article in this series, I shall include details not covered in the first two installments of "How to Build Your Own Space-Ship". So far I have told how you, Mr. Average Fan, can build the hull and power plant for an authentic space-ship capable of going to Mars and back, so this article covers such details as steering controls for the ship, instruments and navigation, space-suits, air, food and water, and refreshments and entertainment.
The first and most important of these is the steering mechanism. Such a large and heavy vessel needs an adequate means of turning it, and a makeshift device, such as steering vanes in the jet-stream, would not only be inadequate, it would be silly. The velocity of the powdered iron stream would cause it to slash through tempered tungsten like a hot knife through wax. A non-mechanical method of steering is far more preferable, one which needs no moving parts and is not likely to break down in mid-flight. The simplest, easiest, and most effective method, considering our abundant supply of available electric power, would be to place powerful electro-magnets at the base of the solenoid tube and use them to slightly deflect the jet-stream. The controls for these would be almost entirely automatic, keeping the ship on course with no effort from the pilot. Auxiliary gyro-stabilizers can be used for rapid maneuvers and for swinging ship while in free fall.
Of course, before you start on your trip, you will get your course all charted out; any observatory staff will be more than glad to give you a hand. Therefore, you will need only a gyro-stabilized sextant for getting angles between planets and stars, an accurate chronometer unaffected by gravitational changes, and a pocket calculating machine. A few more instruments would probably come in handy, but for the beginning navigator these will be sufficient.
An interesting problem is posed by the possible need of repairs or outside observations while in space. Of course this requires space-suits, but should these be of the self-contained type or the dependent - or umbilical - model. The former type allows much more freedom of motion, but the dependent model is lighter, allows telephone communications to the inside of the ship, will not run out of air, and gives the occupant a feeling of security as he is solidly fastened to the ship by an air hose. Your choice will be dictated by preference alone, in this case.
In the last article, you will recall, the plans for the hull specified living quarters as being the top two decks, with room for supplies in the dome-shaped top of the ship along with the ship's engines. The recreation room and air supply are located on the lower deck. The most efficient air renewer ever invented is ordinary plant life, so we'll use an arrangement which is both efficient and a morale booster. The ceiling tubes will produce light very similar to sunlight and the floor and walls will be covered with vegetation -- grass on the floor, with hedges and beds of more efficient oxygen producers. With the entire deck disguised as a terrestrial park, you can imagine how it will feel to float around under free fall, swinging from one tree to the next, or just floating leisurely about, pretending you're a bird or maybe a blimp. It is the ideal cure for tense nerves. This arrangement provides not only air and relaxation but, handled properly, yields most of the fresh fruits and vegetables necessary to a balanced diet.
In such a ship, especially when manned by a group of science-fiction fans, it is inevitable that the pleasant topic of (no I don't mean sex. Don't jump the gun, Junior) alcoholic beverages will arise. What will you do when that fateful day arrives, about half-way out to Mars, when you run out of liquor? The last bottle of Old SpaceRanger is drained and there isn't a single drop of that marvelous extract from the fountain of life nearer than Earth (which at the moment is between eighty and ninety million miles away). The obvious answer is to brew your own liquor. The first thing to do is ferment some of the grains from the 'garden', then set up a still and distill out the alcoholic contents of the mash. This sounds easy, but the first time you try it you are apt to find foaming mash squirting out of the end of the condensing tube as the mash boils with no gravity to hold it down. Result, one fine run of drinking alcohol plumb ruint. You can avoid all this trouble by simply taking into account the peculiarities of liquid behavior under free fall. The surface tension of the liquid will tend to form it into a sphere; in contact with material that it will wet, the liquid will flow over the entire surface, covering it fairly evenly; in contact with material that it will not wet, such as oily or greasy surfaces, the liquid will pull itself away and form an independent sphere.
Taking these characteristics into account, you will find it a simple matter to construct your free fall still. You can choose between two alternatives. The first one is to have the mash floating in the center of a globe of metal with a heating element inserted into it. The alcohol will evaporate off the surface of the globe of mash and condense onto the inside of the metal sphere. This end product is reasonably drinkable. The other method is to release the mash into a similar sphere of metal where it will, upon contacting the inside surface, wet it and cover the inside of the sphere fairly evenly. When the outside of the sphere is gently heated the gasses formed will escape from inside the sphere through a non-wetting tube inserted into the space left when the mash clings to the metal wall of the sphere. When the gasses are led through a cool tube they will condense and be easily captured. Prosit!
Now you have the full instructions on how to build your own space-ship. Don't forget to drop me a postcard from Mars.
Data entry by Judy Bemis