Drones

From ΔV: Wiki

Disposable Nanodrone System

The latest breakthrough in remotely controlled spacecraft technology consists of palm-sized disposable spacecraft remotely powered by a ship's on-board laser array. The nanodrone system consists of remote laser array, control computer and a nanodrone assembly plant.

The assembly plant is capable of rapidly assembling hundreds of tiny spacecraft from on-board component storage. Drones can be outfitted for on-the-fly repairs, ore haulage and other purposes.

Each drone contains a solid block of aluminium propellant that's vaporized by directed laser heat to provide thrust, using an array of mirrors to control thrust vectoring. Drones are expected to perform their role in less than a minute and are considered disposable after launch.

Drone assembly plants

Drone assembly plants occupy a hardpoint and require onboard companion nanodrone components to function.

Drone assembly plants
Name Effective range Drones per second Drone wet mass Drone thrust Power draw Mass Price
MPI Tug drones 400 m 50 0.1 kg 1 kN 50 MW 4,000 kg 250,000 E$
MLF Haul Drones 400 m 50 0.1 kg 1 kN 50 MW 4,000 kg 350,000 E$
OME Maintenance Drones 32 50 MW 4,000 kg 400,000 E$

Nanodrone Components

Nanodrone components must be purchased when launching, or fabricated from processed minerals using the Voyager RSLS Fabrication Plant.

Nanodrone Component storage
Name Storage Delivery Price Exclusive to
Basic nanodrone storage 1,000 kg 20 kg/s 20,000 E$
Industrial nanodrone storage 5,000 kg 20 kg/s 120,000 E$
Military nanodrone storage 10,000 kg 100 kg/s 250,000 E$
Harvester-class nanodrone storage 20,000 kg 100 kg/s 500,000 E$ K225, OCP-209
Station-class nanodrone storage 50,000 kg 100 kg/s 1,250,000 E$ K225, OCP-209