[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?

[Langy]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

How about remote control?

Whether it's on remote control or not has nothing to do with it. The vast majority of the mass of a Control Room is actually maneuvering jets and the like. The actual 'control room' part is pretty miniscule in comparison.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Langy

Whether it's on remote control or not has nothing to do with it. The vast majority of the mass of a Control Room is actually maneuvering jets and the like. The actual 'control room' part is pretty miniscule in comparison.

Yes, that is important to understand.

Also the Soft Landing Syste is 5% of the ship's mass, or the pod's mass, so it makes sense that there's room for some sort of maneuvering system: a few jets or control surfaces.

[Kale]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Yes, that is important to understand.

Also the Soft Landing Syste is 5% of the ship's mass, or the pod's mass, so it makes sense that there's room for some sort of maneuvering system: a few jets or control surfaces.

I agree that soft landing would have some basic maneuvering capability. You would need this to line up for re-entry and keep the craft oriented the right way.
A Control System, however, would give you additional maneuvering capability as well as some kind of navigation computer. Also don't forget that Control systems also include basic sensors. The extra thrusters, nav computer, and most importantly sensors would allow for a more accurate landing than just the soft landing system alone. That said, if some sort of radio beacon or GPS was available I would allow a soft landing system to be more accurate. On the other hand, if no such landing aids were available then having a sensor suite onboard would make all the difference for finding your landing target zone.

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by Kale

That said, if some sort of radio beacon or GPS was available I would allow a soft landing system to be more accurate.

I would agree. This then allows your droptroopers to have more versimillitude by mirroring historical paratroopers. Plus retaining "elite" formations; military traditions going back to Sparta...

Pathfinders...

A couple of squads of the most experienced, most on the bounce, roughest droptroopers...in more manuverable drop pods...who are dropped first at the target (which they can hit with the better guidance systems) and then lay out the drop beacons to guide the rest in.

Needless to say they are also expected to "hold" the dropzone until the others show up...casualties may be high...