[Ship Design] Interdiction Satellite

[Sylvre Phire]

Hey folks!

I'm back with another ship design. This one is based on a design I first saw in Ian Livingstone's "Dicing With Dragons". On pages 120-121, two pages from IISS Ship Files were reprinted; the design, an interdiction satellite.

When T4 came out, I tried, and failed, to recreate the design using the ship design rules for that edition. The piece of junk that T4 allowed me to create required a large crew despite automation.

With MGT, I'm happy to say that I've not only recreated the design, but slightly improved upon it. By the way, I plan on using this design for an article I've proposed for Signs & Portents

To stimulate the memories of the CT grognards, here are the stats of the interdiction satellite as they appeared for CT.

Tonnage: 300 tons standard; 4200 cubic meters
Crew: None.
Dimensions in Meters: 39.0L x 5.0W x 10.5H
Acceleration: 0.25 G (orbital correction only).
Jump: None.
Power Plant: Not Applicable.
Engineering: One Torvald N2000 electric generator linked to battery storage. Solar cell derivation. Ten attitude thrusters.
Gravitics: 1G floor field in manned modes only.
Electronics: IECC 4.4/LLJ computer with integral fiber-optic backup and fire control.
Range: Theoretically unlimited maneuver and time-on-station provided a suitable solar power source available. Pressurized area contains supplies for 20 days.
Armament: One missile rack with a magazine of 40 missiles. Three turrets: Two of two beam lasers and one sandcaster, and one of two fusion guns.
Screens: Level 5 nuclear damper.
Configuration: Cylinder. Unstreamlined. Level 6 hull armor.
Capacity: Two persons may 'live in' to carry out maintenance and recalibration.
Ship's Vehicles: None.
Special Features: Meteor/debris shield and solar cell vanes.

So, here's my take on the interdiction satellite.

Interdiction Satellite
300 tons
Hull: Standard cylinder; unstreamlined, self-sealing, 30% reinforcement (90 tons); Hull Code - 3; Hull/Structure - 21/6.
Armor: Crystaliron, 30 tons, 8 points protection; Reflec Coating (Naval models only): +3 to armor vs. lasers.
Jump Drive: None.
Maneuver Drive: Class B gravitic drive; 1G acceleration, used for orbital correction only; 3 tons.
Power Plant: Class B power plant; 7 tons. Fueled by chemical batteries and solar power.
Solar Panels: 2 tons
Chemical Batteries: 14 tons - 2000 hours low power use; charged by power plant.
Bridge: 20 tons
Computer: Model 4/fib (Rating 20); Model 4/fib (Rating 20) backup
Computer Software: Maneuver/0 (Rating 0); Intellect (Rating 10); Evade/1 (Rating 10) - allows for alteration of target profile; Fire Control/5 (Rating 25); Auto-Repair/2 (Rating 20); Library (Rating 0)
Electronics: Main - Advanced Suite (+1 DM, 3 tons); Backup - Basic Military Suite (+2 DM, 2 tons)
Ship's Locker
Two Staterooms: 8 tons - provided for the occasional maintenance crew
Probe Drones: 20 - 4 tons
Repair Drones: 3 tons
Armament: One triple turret (2 beam lasers/1 sandcaster), 1 ton; 1 double turret (2 particle beams), 1 ton; 1 pop-up triple turret (3 missile racks), 3 tons
Munitions: 48 smart missiles, 4 tons; 100 sandcaster barrels, 5 tons.
Screens: Nuclear damper and meson screens, 100 tons

Thoughts? Questions?

Pax et bonum,

Dale

 

[waylandson]

I loved the original version in the old IISS Book, which I think I may still have somewhere, but this one is even better. I think I may have a use for it in a possible scenario (evil DM Laughing).

:twisted:

 

[blackblood_uk]

I like it i may even use it in a scenario, im runnign a salvage campaign (to start with) and these could be in the way of a "milk run" salvage mission, both getting down to the planet and back up again after :twisted:

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Using HG, could you go with a smaller bridge?

Also, even though not strictly allowed by the tables, I think you could give it a M-Drive of "A" and get 0.5g rating (station keeping only). Well within the spirit of the rules.

Would it be possible to put a 50-ton Missile Bay on it instead of all those turrets?

Also, you could probably get away with 1 stateroom (2 maintenance people could share).

I really like the design!

 

[Sylvre Phire]

Using HG, could you go with a smaller bridge?

Also, even though not strictly allowed by the tables, I think you could give it a M-Drive of "A" and get 0.5g rating (station keeping only). Well within the spirit of the rules.

Would it be possible to put a 50-ton Missile Bay on it instead of all those turrets?

Also, you could probably get away with 1 stateroom (2 maintenance people could share).

I really like the design!

I'll look into those suggestions. The reason for all the turrets is to keep the design close to the spirit of the original. The original had three turrets plus the missile rack, but in MGT you're only allowed 1 hardpoint per 100 tons of hull. At the same time, having so many turrets is meant to give the satellite a good field of fire. I got the impression from the original design that the missile rack was fixed, requiring the target to be right in front of the rack in order for the satellite to get a good target lock.

Still, I'll give these ideas some thought and post a revised version later. Thanks for the feedback, guys! Glad you like it!

Pax et bonum,

Dale

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

You could have 1 Bay and 2 turrets (3 hardpoints).

The bay isn't a line-of-sight weapon. Weapon locks can be from anywhere and the missiles accelerate away toward the target.

 

[Sylvre Phire]

You could have 1 Bay and 2 turrets (3 hardpoints).

The bay isn't a line-of-sight weapon. Weapon locks can be from anywhere and the missiles accelerate away toward the target.

True... But then there's the other issue of storage space for replacement parts and supplies and the like. Overall, I liked the idea of a compact bridge and one stateroom for maintenance crews. The bay is an interesting idea, but I don't really like the idea of giving up one set of screens to accomodate the missile bay. With regard to reducing the drive to a Class A, I can understand doing so in the spirit of modelling the .25G acceleration, but I like the idea of an interdiction satellite pulling 1G and surprising the heck out of some corsairs as they close to engage. :twisted:

So, here's the new version:

Interdiction Satellite
300 tons
Hull: Standard cylinder; unstreamlined, self-sealing, 30% reinforcement (90 tons); Hull Code - 3; Hull/Structure - 21/6.
Armor: Crystaliron, 30 tons, 8 points protection; Reflec Coating (Naval models only): +3 to armor vs. lasers.
Jump Drive: None.
Maneuver Drive: TL10 Class B gravitic drive; 1G acceleration, used for orbital correction only; 2.25 tons.
Power Plant: Class B power plant; 7 tons. Fueled by chemical batteries and solar power.
Solar Panels: 2 tons
Chemical Batteries: 14 tons - 2000 hours low power use; charged by power plant.
Bridge: Compact, hardened; 15 tons (-1 DM to skill checks)
Computer: Model 4/fib (Rating 20); Model 4/fib (Rating 20) backup
Computer Software: Maneuver/0 (Rating 0); Intellect (Rating 10); Evade/1 (Rating 10) - allows for alteration of target profile; Fire Control/5 (Rating 25); Auto-Repair/2 (Rating 20); Library (Rating 0)
Electronics: Main - Survey Sensors (+1 DM, 3 tons); Backup - Basic Military Suite (+2 DM, 2 tons); both have enhanced signal processing (4 tons)
Ship's Locker
One Stateroom: 4 tons - provided for the occasional maintenance crew
Probe Drones: 20 - 4 tons
Repair Drones: 3 tons
Armament: One triple turret (2 beam lasers/1 sandcaster), 1 ton; 1 double turret (2 particle beams), 1 ton; 1 pop-up triple turret (3 missile racks), 3 tons
Munitions: 48 smart missiles, 4 tons; 100 sandcaster barrels, 5 tons.
Screens: Nuclear damper and meson screens, 100 tons

The changes, if my math is right, open up about 5.75 tons for storage of spare parts (which would include two spare solar panels) and supplies for the maintenance crew.

Any other thoughts, questions, or input?

Pax et bonum,

Dale

 

[Patron Zero]

Mind I'm far from able to crunch numbers with the ease as many others here at the forum do, that said could not an interdiction platform not be well under the 300 tons stated of the designs presented ?

Again, an unsubstantiated opinion but could not something in the size-volume of a 100 ton X-boat not function in the role of said 'vehicle' to perhaps offer three smaller units than one of larger mass ?

 

[Sylvre Phire]

Mind I'm far from able to crunch numbers with the ease as many others here at the forum do with such ease, that said could not an interdiction platform not be well under the 300 tons stated of the designs presented ?

Again, an unsubstantiated opinion but could not something in the size-volume of a 100 ton X-boat not function in the role of said 'vehicle' to perhaps offer three smaller units than one of larger mass ?

Yes, but the issue is survivability. Interdiction satellites are commonly put in place in forbidden/restricted (Red Zone) systems that aren't always patrolled on a constant basis or in systems with vital bases to act as an early warning system. They're pretty much a "submarine net" in space. With regard to that, a smaller unit would be cheaper, but would not survive as long against a prolonged/determined assault by corsairs or anyone else who sought to break through the cordon.

Hmm... Smaller units might be used in systems with vital bases while the larger units are used in more out of the way systems... Hmm...

But I digress; back to the issue of combat and interdiction satellites...

An automated satellite is not going to have the necessary ingenuity and ability to think "outside the box" when going up against a living captain and crew. The only time you'd see that is if a maintenance crew got caught off guard while recalibrating the satellite.

Sure, the satellite might surprise the corsairs by making a 1G burn to reduce its target profile, but it's not going to be doing much else in the way of maneuvers. As such, it's got to be able to stand and fight while transmitting a security alert to the nearest ships/x-boats etc.

As a side note, I had originally thought about deviating from the original design by including a jump-capable, automated ship's boat that would be launched in the event the satellite were attacked. That would insure the satellite's owners would know ASAP that a security breach had occurred. I may still write such a version up. 8)

Overall, the main purpose of this exercise was nostalgia. 8)

Pax et bonum,

Dale

 

[Patron Zero]

As a side note, I had originally thought about deviating from the original design by including a jump-capable, automated ship's boat that would be launched in the event the satellite were attacked. That would insure the satellite's owners would know ASAP that a security breach had occurred. I may still write such a version up. 8)

IMTU, I allow for such a contingency to be covered by the launch of a jump-capable message torpedo, actually more than one unit would be deployed to insure higher odds of said message being successfully delivered.