Help! M-drive protection from micrometeors: source?

[Black Vulmea]

Somewhere in CT is a reference to maneuver drives protecting starships from micrometeors; I thought it was in BeltStrike but I'm striking out - pun intended - locating it.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, and if so, do you recall the source?

 

[Rupert]

It does sound familiar, but I'm damned if I can recall or find the source.

 

[mike wightman]

It is in Beltstrike.

Folder 1 page 2:

"Ships under power are not affected - part of the M-drive generates a low-power screen against radiation and meteorite impact - but a power failure during approach within about a million kilometers of the gas giant would be fatal."

 

[Black Vulmea]

It is in Beltstrike.

Thank you!

I searched my .pdf with "micrometeor" and "meteoroid." "Meteorite" or even just "meteor" never crossed my mind.

I thought I was losing [more of] my mind [than I already have].

 

[whartung]

"Ships under power are not affected - part of the M-drive generates a low-power screen against radiation and meteorite impact - but a power failure during approach within about a million kilometers of the gas giant would be fatal."

Well that makes combat at the High Guard position particularly interesting. Break the power plant/M-Drive on a ship and it, essentially, disintegrates due to local particulates at speed.

 

[mike wightman]

I would imagine the protective screen breaks down at the same time as the acceleration compensation and the artificial gravity...

and so long as you are not in a gas giant's radiation belt or ring system you likely wouldn't need to worry too much about background radiation or particulates.

 

[kilemall]

Hmm interesting. I had postulated deflection tech as a micro version of CT HG repulsors. But I also figure the m drive is powerful enough to diffuse typical heat/EMF and other EM ephemera which explains the relatively short ranges CT sensors have. So why not.

MDrives are awfully easy to destroy in smaller ships and craft. That Beltstrike line makes it worse.

Another side gopher hole is how fast you can safely go and not be affected by micrometeorites. At some point there has to be an upper velocity limit beyond which here be kinetic dragons.

 

[whartung]

Another side gopher hole is how fast you can safely go and not be affected by micrometeorites.

Well that's the key point, sorta.

The issue that I mention is simply that if the power/drive goes down, and the ship is going fast enough "within 1Mkm of a Gas Giant" (i.e. High Guard) then the ship loses its shielding and gets shredded by micro meteorites. It's a rare case to be sure, but can sure make SDBs coming out of the clouds perhaps a little bit more scary.

Just visualizing some large cruiser being transformed into a streaming fireball moments after you see the drive flare hit to the stern and the soft glow that normally surrounds the ship suddenly winks out!

 

[mike wightman]

How many of our spacecraft have ever been lost to micrometeor impact? The various probes sent to Jupiter, Saturn?

 

[Spinward Flow]

Well that makes combat at the High Guard position particularly interesting. Break the power plant/M-Drive on a ship and it, essentially, disintegrates due to local particulates at speed.

Well ... not instantly ...
It's not like the M-Drive powers down and the craft just SHREDS in seconds from micrometeorite impacts.

Furthermore ... think about what the baseline armor thickness is for starship hulls @ Armor: 0.
According to Striker ... it's Armor Rating: 40 (33.6cm/13.228 inches of Hardened Steel).

Micrometeorites will make "pockmarks" in hull materials rated at that thickness ... but I wouldn't expect penetration or outright structural failure to result.

Now ... leave a craft in such an orbit for a decade (or more) ... and it might look like there's been some outer hull "sandblasting" going on.
But I wouldn't expect a catastrophic collision to happen within ... the first few hours ... after the M-Drive loses power.

Short term, unlikely.
Long term ... the dice rolls for "Bad Stuff™" opportunities just keep stacking up ... until ...



If it happens (and you survive), might want to divert for an annual overhaul maintenance cycle "quickly" rather than delay it ...