Taco Bob

Another few ideas. Why is a space port a "on ground" construction? Can space ships in that era simply launch and land anywhere they please? Why not ditch the whole space port/ship yard thingy. If there are factories, then starships may be built. Looking at the astronomy picture of the day (for today) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0906/Korona_oreshko1800.jpg I

The eventual ability to use artificial gravity to turn asteroid fields into planets. A ship's maneuverability should be a factor in battles. Why not allow ships to dodge enemy weapons fire? This would involve a second propulsion system for battle maneuver