May I pick your brains?

[3rdragon]

My really-not-at-all-boss (who nevertheless is the person with the clearest ideas for what I'm supposed to be doing here) has told me that he wants the Network Operations Center to look futuristic, science-fictional, like a space ship. Because what LinkNet, what Macha Works, is doing here is as much about the idea of what technology can be in Zambia, as any of the actual implementations.

So my question to you is, what does the future look like right now? If you had a huge budget, how would you build something that looks like a space ship? What about a modest budget?

Comments

Not sure if this is what you want, but....

[animangel.livejournal.com]

Realistically...small. Most space-places don't have much extra room. ^_^. But I'm pretty sure that's not what they're going for.
Computer screens are with us to stay, I am certain. For interior....Anything that resembles a touch screen for a console...if you can manage it. Voice commands probably won't be overriding touch-screen and typing interfaces anytime soon, given the error rates they have. Also, remember you can put them anywhere you like because in space there is no such thing as "up" and there's not much progress on artificial gravity as of yet.

For exterior: aerodynamic is key. We're heading away from old-school rocket launches to get out shuttles into space, so that means we'll need something with little enough resistance to make it through the atmosphere without burning up. Of course, gradual ascent is also starting to become a Thing. We already have aircraft regularly in the stratosphere. There are lots of independent companies working on designs for a space port, actually and most of them have moved well away from anything involving large thrusters.

Also, lots of tin foil. You may laugh, but you would be surprised just how much stuff scientists work with is either actually constructed out of tin foil or materials which look at lot like it. World-class scientists use the stuff on a regular basis, I kid you not.

For reference, here are real spaceships (feel free to use for inspiration or share or whatever):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/765975/_7A_00349%20copy.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/765975/14A_00342%20copy.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/765975/15A_00341%20copy.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/765975/17A_00339%20copy.jpg

Re: Not sure if this is what you want, but....

[3rdragon]

Well, it isn't a large room . . .

I don't know if it's what I'm looking for, either. But it's certainly good to keep in mind.

[phantomcranefly.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Going for sci-fi spaceship, my favorites tend to be more on the space-opera side than the realism side. I suppose the question is whether it's "what do you think the immediate future will look like" versus "what do you think the distant future should look like".

Generally speaking, I'd go for sliding interior doors rather than swinging, depending on cost/maintenance effectiveness, to give the feel of airtight compartments. I'd say white and silver with interesting curves, but I have nostalgic tastes in sci-fi. If we're going for more realistic/near future, keep things in cupboards/fastened to things so they wouldn't go flying around under sudden acceleration. (I realize that's a lost cause as soon as people move in.)

For anything more specific, I'd really want to know what exactly the Network Operations Center is doing. I figure either way, spaceships are going to be designed for a purpose, and mass is precious so everything needs to be doing its job.

[3rdragon]

Good point. I think we're going for what the future should look like.

Unfortunately, the doors are already in place, and I don't think that mud-brick walls leave much leeway for sliding doors, anyway. (They don't look like mud-bricks; they're sort of attractive brown bricks with varnish on them, but I'm told that they're made out of very squished dirt.)

Neatness is certainly a goal. I'm not sure how realistic a goal, but it's a goal.

The Network Operations Center is basically the helpdesk and monitoring center (This is part of the reason the not-really-at-all boss wants it to look futuristic; if it's the most awesome tech thing in Zambia, maybe the poor folks running it will get a little more respect when the internet's out because the satellite is grumpy). Discussions at the moment include a large projection on one wall monitoring the status of . . . stuff. (He told me what stuff he wanted to monitor, but at this point I've forgotten what it was.)