Efficient, safe, and scalable movement of people, cargo, and materials throughout the hollowed asteroid base — the circulatory system of a permanent habitat.
Enable rapid, low-energy transport inside the large internal volume of the hollowed asteroid, connecting docking bays, habitat zones, life-support systems, manufacturing areas, storage, and recreation spaces.
These systems are installed after power, life support, and docking facilities are operational. They turn the hollowed asteroid from a collection of chambers into a cohesive, functioning city-scale habitat and industrial complex.
Requirement: Every hollowed asteroid base shall incorporate a fully integrated internal transportation network consisting of standardised maglev tubes, heavy-lift elevators, and automated cargo systems that connect all major functional zones.
Rationale: Enables rapid, low-energy movement of people, cargo, and materials throughout the large internal volume, turning the asteroid into a cohesive city-scale habitat.
Open Questions: None at v0.7
Requirement: High-speed pressurised maglev tubes shall connect all habitat, manufacturing, docking, storage, and recreation zones with multiple redundant routing options.
Rationale: Provides fast, low-energy passenger and light-cargo transport across the base while maintaining pressure integrity.
Requirement: Heavy-lift elevators and vertical cargo shafts shall be sized for full UMP modules, vehicles, and large ISRU output, with automated load-sensing and operator-controlled safety interlocks.
Rationale: Enables efficient vertical movement of heavy cargo and equipment between levels in the hollowed volume.
Requirement: A fleet of standardised AGVs and robotic cargo handlers shall operate on dedicated guideways integrated with UMP hardpoints for last-mile internal logistics.
Rationale: Reduces crew workload and ensures continuous material flow between manufacturing, storage, and docking zones.
Requirement: All transportation routes shall be fully pressurised with redundant airlocks and emergency isolation capability compatible with Life Support (3.1.5) and UMP-SEAL-001.
Rationale: Maintains pressure integrity and crew safety across the entire internal network.
Requirement: A centralised traffic management system integrated with UMP-AVIONICS-001 shall provide real-time routing, scheduling, and collision avoidance for all vehicles and personnel in the internal network.
Rationale: Prevents congestion and accidents in a high-traffic, multi-century habitat.
Requirement: All critical transportation functions (emergency stop, manual routing, isolation) shall expose physical manual overrides and digital operator veto independent of automation.
Rationale: Preserves absolute human/post-biological command authority in safety-critical internal movement.
Requirement: The internal transportation network shall include pre-planned expansion corridors and structural hardpoints for future tunnel and shaft addition as the base grows.
Rationale: Supports exponential chamber expansion without major disruption to existing operations.