Seleneca's Ports of Entry
Notes about the Ports:
Transport in and out of Seleneca for cargo is somewhat like an ocean port, and for passengers somewhat like an airport. Seleneca has two harbors, named East and West to avoid confusion. East Street leads to East Harbor, and West Street leads to West Harbor. Each harbor has two sets of ports. These are the transfer locations for people, goods and raw materials passing between our city and lunar or off-Moon locations. Upon entering the port, one first encounters the Lateral Docks used mostly for passengers and limited cargo. Past that, there is a perpendicular concourse for larger vehicles. Just outside the concourse are overhead cranes that lift and lower cargo containers from the vehicles.
Shipping is accomplished much like it has been for two centuries, in long box-like steel containers, like that used for oceanic shipping on Earth. Our lunar containers are locally manufactured from steel, and titanium that come from a factory outside of Seleneca. They are designed to the same size and appearance as shipping containers on Earth, but the walls are made a bit thinner due to our lower gravity, except for those used to ship with interior atmospheric pressure. They need stronger walls, and they also need special equipment inside which result in less storage space.
The East Harbor, View from Above
Notes for the image above:
A
Entrance to the East Harbor (below roof). The portal doors located within the arched opening to the outside are used only on rare occasions and today serve more as symbolic or ceremonial doors to the city.
B
The Northeast Lateral Port (below roof). The overhang of the roof is covering the smaller vehicles that dock there. The docks at this specific port accommodate shuttle services to the Frigoris Space Port and various tourist locations outside of Seleneca.
C
The Northeast Concourse (below roof). The large structure above the concourses hold 4 meters of regolith above for a shield against harmful solar and galactic radiation. Some of the gates are closed when the sun is low to the horizon to avoid exposure to solar radiation.
D
The Southeast Concourse (below roof).
E
The Southeast Lateral Port (below roof).
F
East Harbor.
G
West Harbor.
Cargo System
There are currently two classes of lunar vehicles, Cargo Class and Independent Class. The Independent Class vehicles dock along the lateral sides of each port closest to the entrances from the City’s edge. These vehicles range in size and appearance and most are sized like the Recreational Vehicle (RV) or touring bus that were used on Earth long ago. They carry small groups of passengers and/or limited cargo.
The Cargo Class vehicles are much larger. The popular model, Carg-It 2100 can carry 15 40-foot containers per level up to about 5 or 6 levels. Cranes above the dock lift the containers off each vehicle and set them down on a tarmac-level platform that is also an elevator that then lowers them into an airlock and then to floor of the warehouse below. Containers are emptied in place or completely removed from the elevator. Loaded containers are then placed into the elevator before being sent back up to the tarmac for placement on a departing lunar transport.
The Carg-It 2100 docks directly to the upper concourse so that the vehicle operators, passengers, and simple deliveries can enter and exit the vehicles while remaining in a pressurized atmosphere. The front of the vehicle has cabins stacked vertically, with the bridge on the upper-most deck. The vehicles can be driven frontwards or backwards to avoid the need for excessive turning movements. The crew normally consists of two persons. The cabins have walls and windows with shielding from harmful radiation. The vehicles have wheel assemblies calibrated for the lunar roadways and sometimes for off-street conditions. Lunar roadways are formed by leveling and compacting the regolith, then melting it to form a hard-textured surface. This helps in reducing the dust caused by passing vehicles and reduces maintenance on the wheel assemblies.
Return to Nav Panel
Closeup of Containers being loaded and unloaded
Notes for the image above:
A
The Cargo Ship has vertically stacked cabins at the front with its bridge at the top.
B
Containers stacked on the flat bed of the CargEx 2100 lunar transport vehicle.
C
The Blue container is lowered from the CargEx 2100 lunar transport vehicle to the freight elevator.
D
The green markings show the floor of the freight elevator is at the level of the tarmac. This platform is ready to receive a container and be lowered to the warehouse below.
E
The markings here are that of the roof of the elevator-airlock. The roof is the outer door of the airlock chamber providing a seal. It slides in and out of place when the elevator is lowered or raised. When this is visible, it means that there is a container below, and another should not be placed until the lower one is removed.
F
This shows a green container either being raised or lowered by the elevator.
G
The roof of an orange container is lower than the door to the airlock. This container is either being raised or lowered.
H
A typical portal where the transport vehicle connects for passenger and crew access.
I
Windows from the concourse to view the loading and unloading process of containers between the transport vehicles.
