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6. Power
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6.1 Select Fusion Reactor
The fusion reactor powers the systems of a starship and should
be large enough to power-up all major system of the starship
at once. It is not necessary to have one large reactor, it can
be split into several smaller ones in order to avoid collateral
damage and increase the survivability in case of an accident.
Add the power consumption of the following systems:
Chapter 3.1 : Hull
3.2 : Maneuverability
3.3 : Sublight Drive
3.4 : Hyperdrive
4A.2: Weapons
4A.5: Pods
5.1 : Communications Equipment
5.2 : Sensors
5.3 : Electronic Warfare
5.4 : Countermeasures
5.5 : Shields
8.12: Mining Equipment
= Total Power Demand
Starships normally have a in-built redundancy in their reactors.
This makes it easier to upgrade power-hungry systems without
having to install a larger reactor and it also increases battle
survivability.
Civilian starships normally have ten to twenty percent more
power than necessary while military starships can have as much
as four times the power needed.
Multiply Total Power Demand with a factor between 1.0 to 4.0.
The result is the Power Rating. This rating is the output of
the reactor per hour, measured in Power Units (PU).
Fusion Reactor Mass: Power Rating / 1000
Fusion Reactor Cost: Power Rating^0.5 x 200
Note: It is possible to build a reactor with a lower output
than necessary, but this makes it impossible to have all
systems working at the same time.
6.2 Add Batteries
Batteries is a must if you want to have some form of power when
the fusion reactor is either stopped, damaged or destroyed.
* Emergency Batteries
This type of batteries can only sustain the life support of a
ship for five minutes.
Mass: Number of persons carried x Consumables, in days / 1000
Cost: Number of persons carried x 50
Note: The number of persons used in the formula must be the
same as in chapter 8.2: Life Support.
* Backup Batteries
In the event of a fusion reactor failure, these batteries are
the only power source available to run the ship. They can also
be used to boost the amount of power available to the systems
in a ship.
Mass: Number of Power Units / 1000
Cost: Number of Power Units x 5
Example: You want to have 1000 PU (Power Units) in backup
batteries. Mass becomes 1000 / 1000 = 1 Ton, while
the cost is 5000 credits.
6.3 Determine number of Fuel Cells
The number of fuel cells sets the upper limit for how long a
starship can travel, fight etc. The formulas below gives a
generic number for how many fuel cells a starship has, but it
is always possible to increase/decrease the number available.
* Starfighters:
Number of Fuel Cells: Consumables, in hours / 12, rounded up
Mass: Number of Fuel Cells / 20
Cost: Number of Fuel Cells x 1000
* Starfighter-scale ships:
Number of Fuel Cells: Total Mass Limit / 5, rounded up
Mass: Number of Fuel Cells / 10
Cost: Number of Fuel Cells x 250
* Capital-scale ships:
Number of Fuel Cells: Total Mass Limit / 100, rounded up
Mass: Number of Fuel Cells
Cost: Number of Fuel Cells x 250
* Fuel Consumption Table 1)
TASK FUEL CONSUMED
Entering Hyperspace 1 Cell
6 hours in Hyperspace 1 Cell
Month of RealSpace ops. 1 Cell
Hour of Combat Maneuvers 1 Cell
Hour of atmospheric flight 1 Cell
1) The original Fuel Consumption table is from page 77 in
Galaxy Guide 6 - Tramp Freighters, 1st edition
Note that the fuel consumption table is really only usable
for starfighters and starfighter-scale starships, and should
not be used for capital-scale starships.
6.4 Select Alternative Refueling Capability
There are several methods to refuel a starship in flight.
Below are the most common ones listed.
The Recharging Rate is the number of fuel cells recharged per
hour. Example: 5 cells/hour.
* Fuel Scoop
Fuel scoops makes it possible to refuel from gas giants or
planets by dipping into the atmosphere or seas and removing
gases which are processed into fuel.
Mass: Recharging Rate x 3
Cost: Recharging Rate x 3000
* Inflight refueling probe&receptacle
This type of equipment can only receive fuel from specially
equipped ships (tankers).
* Fuel Probe
A probe can only use the hose&drogue method of inflight
refueling.
Mass: Recharging Rate / 5
Cost: Recharging Rate x 100
Note: This is a fixed probe. If you want a retractable
probe, mass and cost is multiplied by 1.25.
* Receptacle
A receptacle can only use the pivoted flying boom method
of inflight refueling.
Mass: Recharging Rate / 10
Cost: Recharging Rate x 300
* Inflight refueling gear
This type of equipment makes it possible to transfer fuel to
starships specially equipped with fuel receiving gear.
* Hose&Drogue
A hose&drogue is a flexible cable towed after a star-
ship (commonly called tanker) which can be connected
to a fuel probe on another starship in order to transfer
fuel.
Mass: Recharging Rate / 5
Cost: Recharging Rate x 300
* Pivoted Flying Boom
A pivoted flying boom is a stiff rod several meters long
attached to a starship (tanker) which can be connected
to a fuel receptacle on another starship in order to
transfer fuel.
Mass: Recharging Rate / 5
Cost: Recharging Rate x 500
* Solar Converters
Solar converters are huge, molecule-thick solar-absorbent sails.
The closer to a sun the ship is, the faster is it refueled. The
recharging rate out-system is determined by how fast the solar
converter recharges in-system. It is a slow method and the re-
charging rate is measured per day, not per hour.
Mass: Recharging Rate, in-system x 3
Cost: Recharging Rate, in-system x 3600
The formula is:
Recharging rate out-system = Recharging rate in-system / 4
Example: (20/5) means that it recharges 20 fuel cells per day
in-system, 5 fuel cells per day out-system.
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