You miss the point entirely. Try reading the ENTIRE thread; starting from the beginning. The whole POINT of the thread was to create an intersteller vessel, not an interplanetary one. The whole idea is to create a ship that can take advantage of orbiter galaxy when it is released; not to simply fly around the solar system. If I'd wanted that, there are over a hundred such ships available at orbit hangar.
I know that's the idea from the start.
But following your logic nobody should do any spaceship addons because there already spaceship that can do everything.
It is? I thought the objective was to focus on the vehicles, the actual method of going from system-to-system would be covered by something like Orbiter Galaxy.
You could fly to Mars with a Valkyrie though, but it will be very very overkill.
Not really, it's
design is a very practical way of saving mass and the radiation problem still exist on the interplanetary scale, especially for crewed flight.
but yes I'm pulling you out of topic.
Less power in terms of less thrust? Or less Dv?
It would probably be better for lower Dv to drop the beam core design and go for antimatter catalysed fusion. The length of the spacecraft would then drop somewhat, I'd imagine.
Less Dv yes, but the AM-BEAM design can reach 90% of C and you would lose the opportunity to show Relativist effect if reproduced later.
AM Gaz or Plasma require hydrogen as a reactive-mass.
I can make the fuel tank in the shape of a hamburger, doesn't mean it will be very realistic. [.....................]
If you were thinking about Anti-matter fuel tank, it will be probably electromagnetic, take his energy from the thruster. And as the most precious part you can hide it at the center of the design. Unlike the pictured design.
If you use Hydrogen to reach 10% of C as the site say those tank will look like those we know spherical of cylindric.
But as for the Thrusters themselves, I can only guess they'll be surrounded by liquid cooling pipe.
It apparently works on the same principle as a solar eclipse; it can be far smaller than the engine, but if it is at the right distance, it will eclipse the entire engine as seen from the crew module.
What must be hided is the source of radiation, and everything that was in contact with it (the coolant fluid)
But on the picture of the site the matter/antimatter reaction seem to happen on the center of the tor and be directed on the side, making the shield well placed.
but if you place the thruster around, the shield will need to be placed between the part of the thruster where the reaction occur and the crew.
That will be shaped oddly I confess but you only have to create a Shadow. You can still reach a high level of verisimilitude.
Here is two design proposal, I modified from something else.
On this last one the tank serve as shadow shield, but you can put on at the center.