Reaction Drive + Warp Drive

[EldritchFire]

How do you think a reaction drive and warp drive would/should interact?

The warp drive allows "the spacecraft [to] move a number of parsecs equal to its Thrust per hour, up to a maximum of the…drive’s rating."

Which is all well and good for maneouvre drives, because they can be constantly 'on' and push the ship through real-space. However, reaction drives require fuel while in use, and the craft can run out quite quickly. Normally, reaction drives are used to burn for a set length of time, drift for a while, then turn and burn to decelerate the same amount of time it accelerated for.

How would that work with the warp drive? Would the reaction drive have to be on in order to keep up the 1pc/hr/Thrust? Would the R-drive be able to burn/coast/burn while traveling at warp speeds? Or would the ship need to have massive fuel tanks to travel between star-systems?

In the setting I'm working on, there are no J-drives, no M-drives. Heck, no artificial gravity. It's more hard sci-fi then base Traveller assumes, with the only real 'cheat' being warp drive technology. Hence trying to figure out how it all works together.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

The warp drive is similar in effect to a hyperdrive, but instead of entering hyperspace it creates a warp ‘bubble’ around the ship, effectively stretching spacetime. The ship can now travel many times the speed of light but does so in realspace. In every other way, it functions in the same fashion as a hyperdrive.

As I understand it you are basically compressing space to make the journey shorter, rather than travelling faster. Only an outside observer will see the ship moving at more than light-speed. If so reaction drives should work as normal, unaffected by the Warp field.

If the Warp drive does not require fuel it would make sense to require the reaction drive to be used to set a limited range. You are basically making your own system.

 

[Reynard]

Yes, the reaction or maneuver drive must be on to have its thrust rating per hour magnified to parsecs an hour. That's not a bad deal compared to a similar rated jump engine. Not sure why you want a reaction drive compared to a maneuver drive other than it and the warp drives are the only sublight and superlight engine in your universe. Reactions are still gas hogs. Even a TL 12 Rating 16 reaction drive only propels a TL 17 Rated Warp drive 1 parsec an hour. This sounds like going for a particular style rather than efficiency. Almost steampunkish.

 

[EldritchFire]

Yes, the reaction or maneuver drive must be on to have its thrust rating per hour magnified to parsecs an hour. That's not a bad deal compared to a similar rated jump engine. Not sure why you want a reaction drive compared to a maneuver drive other than it and the warp drives are the only sublight and superlight engine in your universe. Reactions are still gas hogs. Even a TL 12 Rating 16 reaction drive only propels a TL 17 Rated Warp drive 1 parsec an hour. This sounds like going for a particular style rather than efficiency. Almost steampunkish.

The style I'm going for is early space exploration. No higher then TL11. And since there is no artificial gravity, that means nothing will be travelling faster then Thrust 1 for any prolonged periods of time. Also, since warp drive is the only FTL drive, its becomes available when an equally rated J-drive otherwise would be. So W-1 at TL9 and W-2 at TL11.

 

[Reynard]

That's what I thought and think it's a cool concept. Did the same thing in a thread sometime back but with maneuver drives and warp based on the IXS Enterprise reports. I'd like to see your concept designs and how they deal with the limitations of reaction drives. Are their craft more like todays ships that are small payloads and huge fuel tanks? Are they more dependent on finding fuel sources in other systems to keep resupplying their ships' tanks. Does this mean they tend to hang around a system's primary world though actual star travel is much more prevalent due to warp technology?

 

[EldritchFire]

That's what I thought and think it's a cool concept. Did the same thing in a thread sometime back but with maneuver drives and warp based on the IXS Enterprise reports. I'd like to see your concept designs and how they deal with the limitations of reaction drives. Are their craft more like todays ships that are small payloads and huge fuel tanks? Are they more dependent on finding fuel sources in other systems to keep resupplying their ships' tanks. Does this mean they tend to hang around a system's primary world though actual star travel is much more prevalent due to warp technology?

The basic concept:

There are 'hyperspace highways' that go between solar systems with rest stops at regular intervals. Most are space stations with fuel and hotels, not much else. And the highways themselves are warp-tunnels that propel ships to FTL speed, so even the 'family minivan' can travel between the stars on the highway.

Of course, expensive cruise ships, bulk freighters, and military vessels have their own warp drives, and can go off the beaten path. And thus are not reliant on the main rest stops that civilians use.

 

[locarno24]

Sort of like Freelancer Trade Lanes?

Sounds cool.