Perdurable Sardine
hull size 0.05 (liftwood worth 247 guineas)= 3.64 tons (must be 4 tons or less to reach 24,000 feet), cost about 330 guineas. Of course, we hope that His Imperial Despot-ness will provide most of the funding, unwittingly. Mr. Atherton's notes:
ether propeller, efficiency 0.1 (10 in original book), "power level" 0.05, weight 100 pounds, cost 5 guineas
electrical batteries, "power production" 0.06, endurance 1 day, weight 120 pounds, cost 12 shillings
crew quarters and iron hull, weight 3000 pounds, cost n/a (the actual boiler)
14 crew/passengers and personal items (at 200 lbs. each), weight 2800 pounds
28 air tanks (20 lbs. each), weight 560 pounds, cost 53 guineas
12 soda lime cans (25 lbs. each), weight 300 pounds, cost 23 guineas
ice bunkers, to hold 400 pounds of ice/snow; fitted with water taps
"A 6-1/4 HP ether propeller should propel the Perdurable Sardine at 125,000 miles per day in space; but of course there is only 1 day's battery power available, and only 12 hours of air if 14 persons are aboard. The vessel has about 900 watts available for other uses when the ether propeller is operating at full power. There may be a small Swan electric lamp fitted within the crew compartment; a sealed spotlight (fitted for underwater operation) will help to attract the attention of the heliograph stations crew.
"The speed which I have given above assumes that Miss Pemberly-Waite can construct an ether propeller with only two-thirds of the efficiency of a Zeppelin propeller -- and those are the least efficient design commercially produced. Of course, she may have to resort to some less than efficient materials or facilities during construction."
"The ice bunkers will help to maintain something like a reasonable temperature within the Perdurable Sardine (whose crew will themselves come to resemble sardines if aboard for more than a very few hours). The resulting melt-water can also be imbibed or used for dampening our brows, once the temperature gets up to the higher levels ... we will no doubt be wearing our warmest furs when departing, and down to our lightest decent garb when we reach the station. The exterior will be painted white, to reflect the greatest amount of the sun's rays, and also to make the Perdurable Sardine more visible to the heliograph station's crew."
"The soda-lime, in the form of bagged pellets in perforated cans, has the property of absorbing carbon dioxide from the air; and thus prolonging the inevitable uninhabitability of the Perdurable Sardine. Each can should be good for about an hour, as long as the humidity does not rise too high ... the soda-lime also absorbs, and is thus spoilt by, moisture. Unfortunately, using plants for cleaning the air would require over a thousand potted plants, and their potted roots, and windows to provide them with sunlight ... not possible in the Perdurable Sardine.
"The amount of liftwood required is the same as would be needed for a 10 ton 'industrial' lift on Mars. The amount of liftwood required is insignificant on Mars; even the little petrol-powered scout flyers employed by the Syrtis Major forces employ about ten times as much. The vessel can do nothing but rise or fall while in the Martian atmosphere, but it should be able to do so at least as fast, and probably faster, than any vessel of the Ogygisian navy."
"A supply of conical rubber stoppers is provided if (heaven forbid) our 3/8" thick [about 15 DEF] casing becomes perforated by small arms fire or meteors. A door with a sight glass is fitted to one end of the 15' long cylinder, which is only 5' in diameter; a sort of periscope may be fitted for navigational purposes, if time allows. Trim controls for the liftwood, and engine controls for the ether propeller, will be either beside the sight glass or the periscope. Rope netting should secure the passengers during the rather cramped transit from Ogygis to the Imperial Heliograph Service's orbital station; sturdy iron frames at the end opposite the door support the batteries and ether propeller mechanism."
"I do hope that one of us has learned the rudiments of ether-ship piloting [TF: Ether Ship, anyone? and how about Astrogation?]."
| Diameter: over hull 5 feet, overall 6 feet | Weight loaded: 3.64 tons |
| Length: over hull 15 feet, overall 17 feet | Weight empty: 2.25 tons |
| Height, standing: 6' 6" | Cost complete £300 at Ogygis |