Among these four high-level technologies, Gu Hang’s attention was immediately captivated by the “Starport Blueprint.”
Starport!
Gu Hang initially thought that such a thing would be found in a more advanced technology pool and was surprised to get it within the elite class!
Its importance was too high.
Currently, the connection between Rage Owl Star and space was very weak, only manageable by various landing transport ships. This resulted in low transport capacity and high transport costs.
Generally speaking, those with real demand for bulk interstellar trade cannot do without a ‘Starport.’
As the name suggests, it’s an interstellar port, built in a geostationary orbit around a planet, allowing incoming starships to dock easily; ships can be serviced and repaired; cargo can be transferred more conveniently and quickly.
The difference a Starport makes is like the difference between docking a cargo ship at a port to offload goods by the truckload, as opposed to using small boats or speedboats for transportation – the efficiency gap is huge.
The transfer of materials between the Starport and the planet’s surface mainly relies on two methods: orbital tugships and space elevators.
Both of these supporting facilities were included in the technological blueprints obtained from the lottery.
Orbital tugships require a launch site on the ground and a connection with the Space Starport in orbit, formulating a corresponding force field tunnel. The tugships themselves have propulsion and can fly up and down within the force field tunnel quickly carrying heavy loads.
On the other hand, the space elevator is another solution, constructing one or multiple physical conduits from the planet’s surface to the Space Starport. The ‘elevator has kinetic energy and moves up and down a physical track.
The main difference between these two solutions is whether the up-and-down passage is a physical conduit or a purely energetic force field tunnel.
However, these two solutions for linking the Starport with the planetary surface are not conflicting.
It’s perfectly feasible to construct a space elevator at the point on the ground that corresponds with the geostationary orbit Starport. The initial construction costs might be higher, but the transport costs are lower.
The force field tunnel and the tugships don’t necessarily need to be constructed at the corresponding geostationary point; when not in use, it can be turned off, resulting in relatively lower wear and tear; when heavy transportation is needed and the capacity of the space elevator is insufficient, then tugships can be implemented as they are costlier to operate each time compared to the space elevator.
After acquiring a Starport, Rage Owl Star would have the qualifications to participate in interstellar trade, unlike previously dealing with the Beautiful Lady, where it could only purchase high-value but small-sized items and use transport ships to slowly ship things. The trade between the Beautiful Lady Convoy and Blackbird Heavy Industries even took three months.
If there had been a Starport, such a duration would not be necessary; the job could be completed in one or two days.
This was because the Beautiful Lady came to support Rage Owl Star and persisted through the three months of loading and unloading due to some other factors behind the trade with Blackbird Heavy Industries. A typical merchant, upon seeing no Starport and relying solely on transport ships for cargo… well, they might as well forget about it.
Without a Starport, small high-value goods trading could be an option but forget about bulk goods trading.
Only with a Starport does one have the ticket to participate in normal interstellar trade.
And that’s not all.
A Starport is also the foundation for a series of space technologies.
Starship construction is not ideal on a planetary surface. It’s not entirely impossible, but very impractical. To elevate a completed starship, akin to a town, from a planetary surface into space, not to mention the energy consumed, the process itself would be a massive destruction to the environment on the ground.
Generally, the primary construction work of starships takes place in interstellar shipyards. At most, certain key components might be crafted on the ground and then transported to the interstellar shipyard for assembly.
And naturally, the interstellar shipyard would be constructed within a Starport.
Beyond that, a Starport is also a very important link in a planet’s orbital defense.
Due to the fact that a Starport does not need mobility like a starship, which flies around in space, and does not need a propulsion system, it can be equipped with extremely thick armor and formidable firepower.
Of course, at that degree, it should no longer be called a Starport but a Star Fortress instead.
Additionally, with sufficient anti-orbital firepower on the ground matched with a Star Fortress, a planet can be far from just a passive target when facing a Space Fleet.
On the contrary, should the enemy dare to approach and their Fleet is not powerful enough, the planet’s anti-orbital firepower combined with the Star Fortress’s robust combat capability can make any would-be aggressor Space Fleet experience despair.
Looking at it from the aspects of commerce, future Starfleet construction, planetary defense… building a Starport is the most fundamental of foundations.
It is essential.
The only problem, Gu Hang realized after careful examination, was that the construction cost of the Starport was extremely high.
Its Black Box was the largest among the many technology Black Boxes he had obtained so far.
However, this Black Box could only produce some of the important components needed for the various Starports.
Final assembly and the basic construction work still had to be done by conventional manpower.
In fact, it was the same for not only the Starport but also the Wind Falcon Rapid Attack Vessel and the recently acquired Lion Tank; they were similar. The Black Boxes weren’t so big that a touch of a button would produce a gigantic war machine. They would manufacture numerous components according to a program, but assembly was still required.