[Spaceships] Does Soft Landing system require a Control room?

[adimar]

Hi all.
I have a couple of questions regarding the Soft Landing system.
1) If I want to drop a drop pod in specific coordinates does it need a Control room? or does the soft landing system provide guidance?
2) Can the drop pod be non-streamlined?
3) Streamlined atmospheric craft need to have at least one armor system in their front or center section. (Spaceships 1, page 10). Does the pod has to have any armor systems? (This is relevant for cargo pods)

10x for your help
Adi

p.s. This is the Meteor Drop Pod (TL9,SM+4)
This craft is used by the Imperial marines to drop a 10 man infantry squad into contested LZs.

Front hull
1 Armor Adv. Metallic Laminate (3 dDr)
2-5 Passenger Seating (4 seats)
6 Soft Landing System

Center hull
1 Armor Adv. Metallic Laminate (3 dDr)
2-6,Core Passenger Seating (6 seats)

Rear hull
1-3 Armor Adv. Metallic Laminate (Hardened)(9 dDr)
4-6 Defensive ECM
Core Control room (Fully Automated)

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by adimar

Hi all.
I have a couple of questions regarding the Soft Landing system.
1) If I want to drop a drop pod in specific coordinates does it need a Control room? or does the soft landing system provide guidance?

The Control Room is necessary if the ship has any guidance system. I think the only case in which a drop pod wouldn't need a CR is if it is completely unguided, only able to open its drop chute at a specific altitude.

2) Can the drop pod be non-streamlined?
3) Streamlined atmospheric craft need to have at least one armor system in their front or center section. (Spaceships 1, page 10). Does the pod has to have any armor systems? (This is relevant for cargo pods)

As far as I know, Spaceships doesn't deal with the full complexity of aerobraking. Realistically it should be both streamlined and armored. Even if it's just a dumb cargo pod that can undergo G-forces that would squash a human, it would benefit from streamlining.

10x for your help
Adi

p.s. This is the Meteor Drop Pod (TL9,SM+4)
This craft is used by the Imperial marines to drop a 10 man infantry squad into contested LZs.

Front hull
1 Armor Adv. Metallic Laminate (3 dDr)
2-5 Passenger Seating (4 seats)
6 Soft Landing System

Center hull
1 Armor Adv. Metallic Laminate (3 dDr)
2-6,Core Passenger Seating (6 seats)

Rear hull
1-3 Armor Adv. Metallic Laminate (Hardened)(9 dDr)
4-6 Defensive ECM
Core Control room (Fully Automated)

As I mentioned, I'd make it Streamlined, which would drop its dDR to 2/2/6. Other than that it looks fine.

[munin]

A Soft-Landing System is all that is necessary to get a spacecraft down safely. It includes a reentry shield and parachute for atmospheric drops (no streamlining or DR necessary*), or airbags for a trace or non-atmospheric drop.

Guidance and maneuvering requires a Control Room.


* See the Phobos-Class Deep-Space Rocket (Spaceships 5, p. 7) which is unstreamlined and has no DR and uses a Soft-Landing System to return to Earth.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by munin

* See the Phobos-Class Deep-Space Rocket (Spaceships 5, p. 7) which is unstreamlined and has no DR and uses a Soft-Landing System to return to Earth.

Oops. Serves me right for not double-checking the book.

[Kale]

Basically, without a control room the pod is relying on the mothership to insert it into the correct re-entry orbit. Overall landing accuracy will be limited since the pod won't be able to correct its trajectory once it has been launched. That said, as long as the weather on the planet is fairly calm and there are no high winds or strange air currents, then the pod should be able to land in an area fairly accurately. The navigator on the mother ship should plot the release course, so a navigation/astrogation roll should determine how accurately the pod lands. If the atmosphere is turbulent then a Control System will probably be needed to help it land in the right spot.
In summary, I'd have the person launching the pod roll astrogation with a penalty for turbulence and weather, and a bonus if the pod has a control center. The better the roll, the closer it lands to the target point.

[The Colonel]

How about remote control?