On Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 12:25 AM <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

One question that has come up to me reading this thread: 

Who classifies and re-classifies ports? The SPA runs them (or maybe there are private ones), but who does the classifications? Is that something in a Navigator's Guidebook with some sort of NGO or Guide (TAS?) running around and evaluating port facilities? Or is the classification an Imperial one where you need to apply for updates to your classification? (Downgrades could result from complaints and an investigation).

GURPS Traveller:Starports, and 

https://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Starport have answers to a great many questions. 

The SPA determines the classification of the ports within the Imperium and along the border where they run the ports. Outside the imperium the job falls on the IISS, who has a much harder time. For example, the Aslan clan may have a shipyard in the port, but you as an outsider do not have access. Is that an Class A or a Class D? 

On Tue, Aug 18, 2020 at 8:51 PM Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

On 19Aug2020 0950, Thomas Jones-Low wrote:


>     You are not very far off.


>


>     Class X port has always meant there is no port and no facilities


> available for landing. Not even a beacon to indicate a landing spot


> may be available.


>


>     What has happened over the years is people have pointed out just


> how fast and easy it is to construct a Class E port. A flat space and


> a radio beacon. A single cargo container can contain all the parts


> required. Even a Class D port could be containerized into a dozen or


> so, and built on site.


>


>     Which begs the question of why, if it's so simple to create a


> Class E port, does the world not have one? And the simple explanation


> is the world is interdicted and forbidden to land there.





According to MT (and TNE), an E type Starport has no repair facilities


and no fuel available for sale to normal civilian traffic. Pretty much


all else is up to the referee. Compared to an X type we can probably


assume it's marked in some way, and has at least a radio beacon and


radar reflector, and that the landing zone is clear and flat and you can


be assured it's hard and strong enough to handle at least the maximum


tonnages listed in its full IISS or TAS entry. It's also most likely


reasonably close to a settlement of some local significance, will have a


customs facility and the other paraphernalia of a port of entry if the


locals care about such things, and enough transport infrastructure to


handle whatever trade comes through it. While the 'port' itself fits in


a shipping container, the infrastructure and improvements do not.





A type X has none of the things above - you land at your own risk of


damage from the landing site being unsuitable, the locals billing you


huge and unmentioned fees for use of their land, and for stealing their


water, and so on. That said, I would expect most type X starport systems


within the Imperium to be interdicted, but not by the IN or IISS.


Rather, travel to them is effectively banned by the locals (otherwise


they'd have a port).





A type D port must have at least some fuel tanks (probably for water) or


sit by a lake or large river. It also needs pumps and all the standard


fuel transfer equipment - it's selling (unrefined) fuel, and that means


it needs the facilities to refuel a ship that's designed to only be


refuelled at and by a port. It also is able to repair minor damage to a


starship, and that means a workshop and at least some standard parts, if


only for things that see a lot of wear or are regularly broken by


careless pilots, and technicians to do the work (though they could well


be part-time and normally work on local vehicles and machinery rather


than spaceships). It also needs all the stuff a type E requires. Again,


while the port equipment itself might fit in a few containers, the


infrastructure won't.





Thus, while one can (and I have myself) flippantly dismiss a type E as


'a bit of flat rock and a radio beacon', what that assures a ship of is


a fair step up from a 'type X'.





--


Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com>





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