Quote:
Originally Posted by acrosome
Hi, all. I'm trying to find an appropriate propulsion system for little work pods and inter-ship lighters, for in the space near stations, in work areas, etc. These are not long-range vehicles so they don't need massive delta-V. But they probably do need acceleration measured in something larger than milligees, if only for time management concerns, so Ion and VASMIR drives are out.
In this setting (TL10) there is a limited superscience switch that makes antimatter extremely cheap and things like the antimatter plasma torch possible. But for small craft like this such systems wouldn't be used since every Tom, Dick, and Harry welder or taxi pilot can't be trusted with a drive that spews radioactive death.
So for the life of me the only option I seem to be able to find is a chemical rocket. But this seems like overkill at 3G acceleration. What I really need is just some sort of OMS, y'know? Have I missed some other option?
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For the purpose you're describing, I really like nuclear thermal rockets. Antimatter thermal rockets might be preferred if antimatter is cheap. Sure they have a non-zero radioactive death factor, but a much smaller one than a torchdrive, and in space where everyone needs shielding against micrometeors and cosmic background radiation anyway, it might not be that big a deal. Another option is HEDM rockets but the whole "fuel tends to explode" factor might scare some people off.