TL7 Lunar Rover

Date: Mon, 22 May 1995 10:10:24 -0500
From: bonn0015@flipper.itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
Subject: TL7 Lunar Rover


It's the time of year around here where people start getting ready to
go on their summer vacations.  So here's a vehicle which could be used
in several ways for a Traveller character's vacation: 


Boeing "LRV" Lunar Roving Vehicle
---------------------------------

    "The Boeing LRV "Lunar Rover" was built for the United States of 
 America for use in the initial, tentative exploration of Luna in the
 mid twenty-sixth century pre-imperial.  Only three examples of this
 exact vehicle were landed on the moon, but the design may have had 
 an influence on the scouting rovers used to develop the Archimedes
 area in later years.
    The only LRV on public display is Rover 1, which is on permanent
 exhibition at the Pioneer Museum in picturesque, suburban Hadley Base,
 along with other priceless artifacts of one of the earliest lunar 
 expeditions. 
    For more information on visiting the historic Pioneer Museum, the 
 metropolitan Archimedes area, or for general information on visiting 
 Luna, please xmail the Tourism Office of the Province of Luna, Terra/Sol, 
 your local Traveller's Aid Society facility, or the IISS Interstellar 
 Tourism Bureau."

Tech Level: 7       Price:  Cr 15650
Size:   7 kL (0.5 tons displacement)
Mass:   0.93 metric tons empty, 1.23 metric tons loaded
Power:  20 kW TL7 electric battery (3 hr endurance)
Maint:  1
Controls:   Basic Mechanical, TL7 gyrocompass
Commo:      30 km radio 
Sensors:    video camera and 16mm movie camera on pintle mounts
Cargo:      92 kg, 369 kL
Crew:       1 (driver)
Passengers: 1 (cramped seat)
Speed:      30 kph road, 12 kph cross-country
Travel Move:  60/24
Combat Move:  24/5

Config: Open    HF: [0]
Susp: W (1)     HS: [0]
                HR: [0]
Deck: Open      Belly: 1


NOTES:

  Tricky to design in FF&S, but this is about as close as it gets.  
  The actual LRV only massed about 200 kg, and folded for delivery in
  the LM; this is too heavy.  Also:

* Errata for STEP 8: TRANSMISSION.  Prices should be in Cr, not MCr.
* Suggestion for CHAPTER 4: CONTROLS.  Consider adding a "Restricted"
  workstation of 1.5 kL for motorcycles.  I just noticed this as I was
  stripping weight, it has nothing to do with this design.
* I looked at the official designs, and "Open" means that the vehicle is
  designed like a convertible or civilian car, with sides and a front and
  back.  The LRV is just a platform with wheels.  So I used the adding 
  armor rules in reverse, and removed all the front, rear, top, and side 
  armor.  Use the open vehicle rules in combat, but shots that hit the 
  armor automatically penetrate (but the damage table changes normally).  
  This is the only house rule I used for this design.  The hull was also 
  lightened by using a quarter centimeter of TL7 light composite as the 
  material, the lightest FF&S material available at TL7.  The control 
  system is only tech-5, as is the cramped crewstation, but then a big
  computer isn't necessary.   Wheels are cross-country.  The 16mm movie
  camera was treated the same as the video camera, which came from the
  control section's RPV rules.  The radio relays the video camera, and
  maybe the suit radios.

  Steve Bonneville
  <bonn0015@gold.tc.umn.edu>