Downport

Downport is the planet-side portion of a Starport or Spaceport.

Description (Specifications)

Large starports frequently have both a ground operation (the Downport) and an orbital component (called the Highport).

History & Background (Dossier)

Downports are often more simply called airports or aerodromes among other terms; they may also be known as "Lowports".

Most sophont species do not evolve as flyers, they begin life as evolved walkers or swimmers. For such species, flight seems a near unattainable dream, something to observe and dream about, not a physical reality, soaring through the clouds and skies. But, technology eventually makes nearly all things happen.

Some enterprising sophont with the Traveller Gene eventually makes the first breakthrough to flight and voila, a surface bound species makes the transition to flight.

The earliest aircraft lead to vastly faster and more sophisticated craft. These first aircraft require increasingly more demanding resources and support and the first airports are born. Repairmen, technicians, fuelers, control towers, hangers.... All of those folks and infrastructure combine to enable flight.

Spaceports

Increasingly sophisticated aircraft lead to... the first spacecraft. Typically species first reach space in rockets but other technologies are certainly possible.

As the aircraft evolves into the first spacecraft, so does the airport evolve into the first spaceports. And as space becomes increasingly accessible, spaceports evolve into two distinct components: the Downport, a surface location, and the Highport, an orbital location.

The Future

Most futurologists and technologists believe that another paradigm change can be found on the technological horizon. Gravitics control technology will eventually allow starcraft that are indistinguishable from aircraft or spacecraft. These advanced craft will be able to enter and exit with a minimum of energy expenditure, very different from today's advanced TL–15 technologies.

The Ancients certainly had such craft!

See Also

Starport facilites

§ == ( Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information: ) == §

• Starport Types
  • Spaceport
  • Class A Starport
  • Class B Starport
  • Class C Starport
  • Class D Starport
  • Class E Starport
  • Class F Spaceport
  • Class G Spaceport
  • Class H Spaceport
  • Class X Starport
  • Class Y Spaceport
• Facilities
  • Concourse
  • Extrality
  • Highport
  • Downport
  • Parkbay
  • Star Bar
  • Startown
• Services
  • Imperial Ship Builders Association (ISBA)
  • Naval Architect
  • Starport Authority
  • Travellers' Aid Society (TAS)
  • Travelling Society
  • Trader's Guild
  • Travellers' Naval Architecture Society (TNAS)

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• John M. Ford, James D Maliszwski. Starports (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), .
• Marc Miller, Robert Eaglestone, Don McKinney. Worlds and Adventures (Far Future Enterprises, 2019), 286.
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science