Each stream -- recall there are 6 streams, 3 in each direction -- has laser-ships spaced 600,000 km apart and they're going 0.018c (5400 km/s).
So, roughly every 2 minutes, each side has to add 3 new fueled-up laser-ships (which then rocket themselves up to speed and assume their positions in the tube -- this cost is included in the overall mass cost for moving payloads)
and during that same window 3 depleted ships arrive from the other side having coasted all the way from the midpoint (I suppose they could retain a little bit of energy and then do things like scanning for incoming rocks or whatever; they'll all have negligible mass at this point and so when they get to the end they can be easily collected or maybe they use their last bit of fuel to slow down and drop themselves at the charging station).
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-12-23 09:07 am (UTC)Each stream -- recall there are 6 streams, 3 in each direction -- has laser-ships spaced 600,000 km apart and they're going 0.018c (5400 km/s).
So, roughly every 2 minutes, each side has to add 3 new fueled-up laser-ships (which then rocket themselves up to speed and assume their positions in the tube -- this cost is included in the overall mass cost for moving payloads)
and during that same window 3 depleted ships arrive from the other side having coasted all the way from the midpoint (I suppose they could retain a little bit of energy and then do things like scanning for incoming rocks or whatever; they'll all have negligible mass at this point and so when they get to the end they can be easily collected or maybe they use their last bit of fuel to slow down and drop themselves at the charging station).
So yes, we're constantly adding fuel to the tube.