Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 9:48 AM
David,
Just another test here. Lighting along the flanks of the fuel tanks.
Part of me was wondering if it made sense to have red and green for port and starboard, but upon reflection that doesn't make so much sense at the distances we contemplate for normal fly-bys. Opinion?
-Ignatz
Mon, Mar 8, 2021 at 10:31 AM
Ignatz,
I'm not sure about the red lights. It makes it seem kind of gloomy or sinister, to be honest. White or yellow, maybe? Pink might be a nice change of pace. You never see that on industrial type ships like this.
Regarding red and green for port/starboard, I think you're mostly correct on that. The only vessels getting close would be ones that have business with the ship. No close fly-bys, I shouldn't think. Also, would red and green lights, so close like that, look kind of Christmasy?
Still, I can understand the logic of having some obvious external indicators for port/starboard, fore/aft, and dorsal/ventral. We get a lot of light from the Sun here, in the vicinity of Earth; in space, either in LEO, high orbit, or even on or around the Moon, this ship would be quite visible to approaching vessels twenty, even fifty kilometers out. Shadows are very deep and harsh out there, though, so even if you think you see it clearly, you could easily misapprehend things. Out by the jump point of a star system, I'd imagine the lighting conditions would be generally poorer. For this reason, it would probably be uncommon for shuttle, tug, or cargo tractor pilots to navigate to or around ships like this by eye.
Would it make sense to legislate this situation into a safety feature that indicates to others, as they approach, exactly what part of the ship you're looking at? I can see some governments thinking that's a good idea, even if most pilots see it as irrelevant. If it were the law, how would it be manifested? Is it even worth depicting here?
-David