RCS Thrusters

Low velocity attitude and translational control is achieved through the use of the Reaction Control Systems (RCS). The RCS is designed to handle sublight operations involving station keeping and directional control. RCS thrusters are situated around the outer hull to provide smooth directional change during sub light flight. A RCS thruster is composed of Reaction control chamber, Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) field trap, and vectored thrust nozzle assembly. The fuel is supplied from immediate use tanks.

Immediate Use Tanks

The thrusters use Deuterium as fuel just like the impulse engines. These tanks are constructed of forced-matrix cortanium 2378 and stainless steel, laid down in parallel/biased layers and gamma-welded together. Each thruster is feed from an immediate use deuterium tank. The deuterium is transferred from the tank to the reaction chamber through the fuel supply lines by magnetic-peristaltic fuel pumps. Each line is monitored and controlled by a pressure regulator. The fuel line feeds into the fuel distribution node. The fuel node controls moving the Deuterium between the main deuterium tank and the immediate use tank or from the immediate use tank to the fuel. While in the immediate use tank the Deuterium is held in a liquid state until transferred to the reaction chamber.

Reaction Control Chamber

The Liquid deuterium is passed through the fuel condoner that heats the liquid via induction loops into a gaseous state before passing into the Reaction Control Chamber (RCC). RCC is a sphere constructed of eight layers of dispersion-strengthened hafnium excelinide gamma welded together. The center layer of the wall of the RCC is composed of neodymium-iron-boron alloy. When this layer is energized with energy drawn from the EPS system is creates a magnetic field that suspends the deuterium gas in the center of the RCC. This squeezes the gas to near fusion conditions. The third layer is a replaceable inner layer of crystalline gulium fluoride with a thickness of 40 cm.

During operation of the RCC, four neodymium-YAG (Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet) Lasers fire in to the suspended and compressed deuterium gas igniting the fusion reaction. The fusion reaction is achieved at 15 keV generating plasma consisting primarily Helium three, trace amounts of tritium along with neutrons and other subatomic particles. Excessive heat is dissipated via dual regenerative liquid nitrogen loops.

Magnetohydrodynamic Energy Field Trap

The Plasma created by the fusion of the deuterium gas is an ionized gas of helium 3 (H3). This plasma is vented directly from the reaction chamber to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) field trap. The MHD has two stages. The first stage acts as an energy recovery device and returns some of the plasma back into the EPS network. The second stage performs partial throttle operations in concert with plasma flow regulators. To control the exhaust products as they enter the thrust nozzle. Both stages are manufactured as a single unit and is constructed of tungsten bormanite.

Vectored Thrust Nozzle Assembly

The H3 plasma is exhausted through the vectored nozzle assembly. This assembly is composed of a upper and lower nozzle assembles. The vectored nozzles direct the exhaust products at the proper angle for the desired force on the ship’s space frame. Each nozzle assembly produces a maximum of 3 million newtons of thrust with one nozzle active. And 5.5 million newtons with both nozzles active. Kreigerium plate valves regulate the relative proportions of exhaust products flowing through the upper and lower nozzle assemblies.

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Use of Bravo Fleet's RCS Thrusters is permitted under the Creative Commons 4.0 License and may or may not have been modified to suit the purpose of AioRPG.