Spaceship flotilla

A flotilla is a collection of objects, nominally spaceships, not all of which are stable but whose overall stability requires the presence of all of them.

1	A long (overweight) spaceship surrounded by two out of phase heavyweight escorts. Its keel is 10 cells long, prow 2 cells, stern 2 cells. The keel of the escort is 3 cells long, the prow and stern each having the same 2 cell length common to all spaceships. Its belly spark has been suppressed (which is the purpose of the escort) but it still has a domino tail spark.	FLOTPH1.PNG
2	The keel has sprouted two parallel lines of live cells, resulting in a solid block of cells just at and below the waterline. Meanwhile the escort has evolved to its thin phase. The belly spark of the top escort will dissipate harmlessly while that of the bottom escort will eventually kill the spark of the long spaceship.	FLOTPH2.PNG
3	The escorts have returned, undamaged, to their thick phase. But all three have flipped upside down; their glide symmetry is individual, not collective.	FLOTPH3.PNG
4	The cycle, now upside down, is finally ready for completion. Two parameters affect the choice of an escort - the respective lengths of the belly spark and of the tail spark, each of which could be 0, 1, or 2. If these constraints cannot be met, a tower of diminishing escorts can be contemplated.	FLOTPH4.PNG

See Also

• Spaceship flotilla at the Life Lexicon