Your browser does not seem to support JavaScript. As a result, your viewing experience will be diminished, and you have been placed in read-only mode.
Please download a browser that supports JavaScript, or enable it if it's disabled (i.e. NoScript).
So you’ve got yourself a spiffy rocketship and you’re heading out into space. What do you load it up with?
Which things you put on your ship will depend on where you’re going and what you intend to do. There are three basic cases:
1. Short trip: You’re on local patrol and will return shortly to base, whether that be a planet, moon, space station, or carrier ship. 2. Civilization: You’re going somewhere relatively well-established, in which case you’ll be able to pick up supplies along the way. 3. Self-sufficiency: You’re headed off to the frontier where you’ll need to bring all your own supplies for a long duration.
In general, an item that is useful for case (1) is also useful for (2) and (3). Similarly, an item useful for case (2) is likely useful in case (3). However, the reverse is not necessarily true. In this thread items will be listed with the lowest numbered case in which they are useful, and will be assumed useful in higher-numbered cases as well. This means, for instance, that type-1 items are useful for nearly every ship, and type-3 items are only really useful for ships going “off the grid” to rely solely on what’s aboard for extended periods.
For example, a fighter or defense ship only needs a few type-1 items. A cargo freighter plying the trade routes may spend days or weeks in space, and thus will have some type-2 items as well. A prospector ship looking for new mining or colonization opportunities will probably be gone for months, so it carries far more supplies including type-3 items.
Furthermore, items can be separated into various categories based on what functions they serve. Here are a number of items, split into 7 categories and sorted by use case. For the sake of completeness, this includes some things that are likely to be built into the spaceship. It also includes some sci-fi staples that may not be physically possible, or may not appear in any given sci-fi setting. It does not list third-party cargo being carried, as that could be anything.
Spoiler
Fundamentals: Essential components of a working spaceship.
Communication link Flight controls Generators Long-range sensors Maneuvering thrusters Warp drive
Redundant backup systems
Life support: Necessary or useful for protecting the soft fleshy things aboard.
Heat sinks Oxygen recycling system Shields and armor
Airlocks Escape pods Radiative cooling Water recycling system
Hydroponic farm Medical devices
Convenience: Items one could live without, but wouldn’t want to.
Acceleration compensator Climate control
Artificial gravity source Bathrooms Crew berths Dishes Entertainment items Exercise equipment Extra clothing Furniture Interior doors Kitchen facilities Personal items Trash compactor
Utility: For getting things done.
Cloaking device Computers Data storage Weapons
Repair tools Small arms Spacesuits
External manipulator arms Fuel synthesizer or scoop Mining tools Scientific instruments
Planetary: For various interactions with planets and moons.
Atmospheric flight wings
Landing shuttle Teleportation device
Aerial vessels Nautical vessels Terrestrial vehicles
Cargo capacity: For transporting various materials safely.
Chemical tanks Cryogenic freezer Hermetically sealed chamber Passenger berths Refrigerated cargo space
Consumable: Things that get used up over time.
Air Ammunition Fuel Water
Food and drink Goods for trade Medicine Recreational drugs Spare parts Special purpose chemicals Toiletries
Building materials
What else would you put on a spaceship, and in what circumstances?
Snacks. We're going to need snacks. And lots of NPR podcasts.
Under "Utility" #3 I'd put some sort of replicators - be they star-trek style rematerializes, robotic assembly part factories, or machine shops. This is different from general repair tools in that 'repair tools' would be for minor breaks (parts and the tools to replace them), while part factories would contain raw materials and the machines to make new parts.
Those factories also might be able to make new ammunition, vehicles, or other necessities; so the mass-cost of such a facility would be balanced by being able to carry less of several specific items that the facility could produce (ammunition, fighters, and spare parts can all be the same mass, and get used as necessary rather than be stored as ammunition when repairs are needed).
I would suggest adding a medical bay under Life Support for #3, as a dedicated medical ward would make it easier for you to keep all your wounded/injured/sick people under doctor's care instead of keeping them confined to their separate crew beds, and would also make it easier to do surgeries if somebody urgently needs one instead of trying to clean out an area of the ship to do an emergency appendectomy on the fly. Having medical devices such as AEDs is all good, but surgeries may become necessary for longer journeys into the unknown. (Additionally, devices like AEDs may make sense for a type 2 vessel, maybe even a type 1 vessel, so I'd suggest downgrading "Medical Devices.")