Out of curiosity I was thinking about upgrades that the crew could possibly make in subsequent refits to the Aurora and Celestia and it occurred to me that no one had thought of adding a pressure shield to the hangar bay doors. I mean, they have the ability to wrap the ships in shields, why couldn't they place emitters around the edge of the exterior of the hangar bay to wrap the area in a localized shield that will permit spacecraft to enter and exit while keeping the pressure inside the bay simultaneously. That would allow them to operate with an open deck, but without pressure suits. They could even program emergency safeties that immediately close the bay doors automatically should the shield lose integrity. The technology is probably somewhere in the Data Ark or maybe someone hasn't thought about it yet.
I would say, with current power limitations, such shields would be to power intensive. and as an open deck is mainly used during combat, might be the best idea.
I thought I read that the Takaran's had them but I'm not sure, and it doesn't look that way when you consider the Zaruzara uses multiple doors.
If they did have the tech, then it would require major refit of the Hanger bay door area and might not be advisable in the little down time these poor ships have.
I don't see them as being very power intensive but I do see it as strange how a shield could stop air but not the hull of a shuttle heading out of the hanger. I guess my biggest concern is if there is any power drain then the hanger bay will very quickly depressurize as those three transfer airlocks are big.
Even if the tech existed, it would be a foolish thing to employ, especially on a combat vessel.
In the first draft of episode 4, I used artificial gravity in the seats to restrain the passengers in the Kalibri airships. My science/military advisor recommended against it, favoring a simple seat belt for much the same reason. I believe his argument was "something malfunctions and the passenger's poop gets pulled out of his ass." I silly statement, but he made his point.
Doors are simple, and they don't 'disappear' when the power goes out. They can be armored, and they can be hand cranked if need be.
Sometimes technology is good, and sometimes it's an unnecessary risk. And sometimes it's just down right expensive to build and maintain.
Besides, we have to save some tech for the future stories, right?
