Optimal Freighting


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OFC Cargo Cult on approach to Romair. Pic by M. Magassa.
The single most important physical manifestations of the Fairport Convention, seen across all words that are signatories, and many beyond arises not from the core convention itself, but from an advisory measure in an appendix. This advisory (Advisory 26) simply states:



The Convention panel recognises the trade benefits from cargo container standards. A range of standardised container dimensions would facilitate surface transport, handling, orbital lifting, loading and inter-system hauling operation. It is suggested that these standards take the form of optimal freighting recommendations (OFR), rather than regulations, as compulsory standardisation is seen as unfeasible. 



Scott’s World was then one of the significant industrial player in the Convention signatories - but not the predominant force it is today. This is almost entirely down to the fact that it was a single Scott’s World ship yard, with some minor industrial partners, that decided to explore the concept of OFR, carrying a very simple concept through the design stages to the construction of prototype elements in less than a year. The yard, the Tempo Orbital Fabrication Facility, however had visionary management under the almost legendary Heidi Vassillum, and had ambitious plans to exploit the opportunity to the OFR to the full.


 Tempo’s first production run was of simple, standardised cargo pods, freighting 100 and  500 tons. The critical development was the universal connector, a locking clamp, standard to all pods, but which also could be adapted to connect the pod to ship services (power, air, water, fuel, and even containing a service lock to allow crew access).



X1 or 'Vanity Project'
Next, rapidly out of dock came the very first ‘Optimal Freighting Configuration’ Hauler, The X1 (X for Experimental, but known as The Vanity Project, after a major disagreement between H. Vassillum and a fellow board member who questioned the value of the OFR development programme). All subsequent OFC pattern vessels of whatever tonnage, now ubiquitous, are essentially based on this first, startling simple design.



The essential design principal was that of a robust, simple vessel, capable of carrying the maximum number of standard pods of what ever specific size (as long as they occurred in denominations of 100 tons). The basic ‘space frame’ was a dispersed hull, with about 33% of the mass dedicated to what is termed the ‘Main Stay’ - any permanent portion of the ship, including drives, fuel, command and crew areas. The rest of the vessel, often projecting forwards from the Main Stay, is organised around the ‘service spar’ a projection or framework into which the pods can be plugged. Fully loaded, the carry capacity of a typical OFC Hauler is two thirds of it’s overall, fully loaded tonnage. Ships may also carry ‘jockeys’, small crewed craft that attach to the pods via the universal connector, containing power, fuel, and drives, for cargo loading, unloading, or even the autonomous delivery of cargo pods to their destination. The universal connector means that these pods can carry anything, as long as they are appropriately fitted out, from fuel, refrigerated cargo, even passengers in either low or middle passage. Additionally, they can be used to enhance the capabilities of the main stay - enhancing drives, fuel, crew accommodation, or be used to carry small craft.



The vessels have developed many variants around this basic principal. The main range of OFC vessels are in the ‘tens of thousands’ tonnage class, but much bigger vessels, Behemoths, Titans and Super Titans are in service, including the largest vessels ever built, massing 600,000 tons and capable of carrying c. 400,000 tons of cargo. Besides simple cargo vessels, they have been deployed as colonisers, cruise ships, orbital facilities, repair vessels, mobile docks, industrial processing complexes, and even military craft. 



The inherent flexibility of OFC craft, and the interoperability of the pod and universal connector system across different vessels, orbital freight yards, industrial facilities, and surface ports, means that today vessels of this type now account for c. 55% of all freight tonnage in operation across the Fairport Convention space volume. Through a carful combination of clever licensing of construction rights, but a ruthless protection of the intellectual property related to the universal connector and other key design elements, Tempo rose to become fist a significant, then major player in space craft construction. It was not long before Tempo’s stratospheric growth in value earned it a place on the Scott’s Guild Central Commercial Board (The Board of Seven), a position it has held comfortably ever since.  

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