[X] Design multiple, objective-focused ships to add redundancy to the mission (Starting Size: Small). Which objective gets focused on?
-[X] Habitation/Transport Capsule, based around transporting astronauts in (relative) safety and comfort
-[X] Scientific Probe Ship for scanning and data collection
Large problem with a generalist ship is that ALL the tech is largely prototype, with few being production quality (non mature)
This means that the idea of a generalist starting anywhere in the medium cat hull size is a pipe dream. Hell, specialist type ships are also largely being overly optimistic at being "small" sized. When a basic hab module would easily run low end of medium with little to no crew comforts. Up to low end of large with crew comforts and moderate personnel gain. And that's just making a space rated habitat that can land and lift off, with a maybe coupling mechanism for link up with other lander specialist units.
Example, cargo specialists will need automation, good luck putting that into anything other than high end medium, with maybe half volume of space for actual cargo. For a short duration mission such as this is expected to be, that wouldn't be bad. Anything longer and a cargo specialist will have to start at the low end large just for base setup over a month plus time but less than three. Supplies takes up more space than you'd think, anything that can't be dry stored will also require refrigeration, which takes up space. You might be thinking something like a 3 meter cube is HUGE, counter point... ISS general use modules start six by three metric cube. With a few being as big as 4x9. Unless Strider comes out and says that commercially available tech is 100+ years in advanced to our current cutting edge. You need to think in terms of current Earth tech Space capabilities.
Low end Large (15x15x15 metric volume) being able to hab 10 to 15 personal with some creature comforts, 7 if transportable under it's own power; back to 10-15 if at the higher end (20x20x20 metric volume) of large, and transportable under it's own power. And those are just cargo and habitation. Specialist laboratories, would start at the low end of large for tow and drop, low end of massive for self propulsion. For basic science. High end of respective sizes and propulsive states for better than basic, but still not advanced, sciences. IF one doesn't mind being cramped and ONLY able to science in space MAYBE high end of medium. Specimen/artifact containment is modified cargo, but would require special tech for, meaning it starts at high end of large and only increases as substance/specimens are secured. Meaning it can easily require high end of massive, and just as easily crawl into enormous.
We just aren't getting a generalist in anything less than enormous, and it'd barely be able to do more than transport and fundamental sciences in space. And yes, a specialist scanner, that doesn't even land, will take up at least high end of medium with propulsion. If we want more than two hot bunking and being able to do orbital surveys over a length of time, then it'll need high end of large for crew, and one or two special "scanners"
We just can't do a generalist at this time, we're going to need to do specialists to figure out basic techs, figure out how to miniaturize them, and figure out how to space save. Once we get some experience and figure out some advancements then we can try a generalist and maybe it won't go over budget by four to seven times the initial outlay.
{Edit}To put it into perspective. Our modern day Space shuttles tip in at the middle to high volume of Large in Metric Volume by Strider's scaling system. The corporate shuttles that are trying to include just the bare basics are still in the high end medium by volume, with some on the low end of large. Small is a current day satellite, with some maneuvering thrust. Maybe some solar panels in the 5 metric cube volume range. These two examples are why I'm moderately certain that we're working with modern era equivalent space tech. {/Edit}
Now. I might be talking out my ass. And Strider just didn't mean to convey the impression that we're running late 90's space tech, but are working with 2090's production tech, and cracked the artificial gravity secret, with a working Helion type commercial fussor. IF so, then yes, you can down grade all paranoid panic sizes by one grade. (High large become high medium, etc.) But, even working with current era space tech, we'd still require those panic sizes as a starting point.
