Venus spaceports

The aerodynamic fleet has one main purpose: the loading and offloading dock for Venus-to-station transport. We do this from up here because Venus' surface is hell, and even if we did have a base there the drag on the rocket is ridiculous. I've seen 27 km/s mooted for delta-V.

For incoming space visitors, I think: a net. Four planes in formation, maybe remote electric-powered longterm drones, can drag a decent-sized rope net, to catch what the orbiting stations drop hither - like crewmen. The crewmen drop into the net like in that Red Bull challenge. They attach themselves to the net. Then three of the four planes detach their side of the rope; the plane left over, which bears a clinic for acclimatising humans to 8.666 g, drags the men up. That plane then docks with the floating hospital.

For upwardly mobile visitors, back to Venus orbit and beyond: Again, we'll want a formation of these planes dragging something like the 1969 Saturn V. (Apollo 11 was less than 30 tonnes, mostly chemical propellant and fuel. Tho' some would add the escape tower.) Likely we will be a sight more efficient - our tech is better, and we've only 8.666 g to worry about up here. Let's say, when the fuel, propellant, passengers, and cargo are all loaded: on the order of 3000 tonnes. When not assembled ready to go, these parts float down in the warehouse. These don't need to be perma-planes; they can be Boeing turbofans with jet fuel.

As ever, outgoing passengers board the rocket by harpoon.

Over Venus, most departures are headed to Earth. Therefore the central blastoff time is the end of Carnivale. Although there may be a few before and after, doing stopovers at the two Librations; and the odd Martian.

Every now and again someone is going to fire off a nuclear rocket. (UPDATE 1/29/2020: earlier this month I was thinking the full Orion; nowadays I'm downscaling to a mere Pluto. UPDATE 12/30: How's thrust / ISP on a nuclear-heated sulfur propellant...?) Such rockets are fired off some distance from the flotilla, to minimise risk and even blindness. Usually a bit below the flotilla's altitude. This is so the fallout won't be flying back around to bathe the flotilla, Cherno-style, in four more days. Pluto ramjets will fly in front of the flotilla when Those Engines kick on, so the fliers are just going to have to trust their shields.

There may be a nuclear-powered longstanding 11 AM flotilla but, since it is inefficient, I expect it to be mothballed periodically. As in: when Venus and Earth aren't in good Hohmann position.

When running as a port, the planes involved kick it up to 100 ms^-1, to catch incoming. Even faster, when pulling rockets to leave. These might be boosted to the Mach 4.5 ramjet-house.

SPLIT 12/20. WHICH ROCKET 1/12/2020. AD HOC 1/29.

DESTINATION 12/25/21: To the orbital ring. Lightcraft, before we get that, or to bypass that.