The Reaction Control System(RCS) is a set of manuevering thrusters located along the Reaction Wheel of the ship, allowing the ship to perform fine maneuvers. RCS consumes propellant, heat and electricity.
| Name | Price | Thrust | Exhaust Velocity | Propellant Consumption | Power Consumption | Thermal Consumption | Operation Mode | Gimbal Angle | Gimbal Speed | Propellant | Mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDSTR thruster | 1,250 E$ | 600 kN | 7 km/s | 85.7 kg/s | 1 MW | 2.1 GW | Pulsed thrust | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 20 kg | ||
| NDVTT thruster | 2,500 E$ | 500 kN | 7 km/s | 71.4 kg/s | 1 MW | 1.8 GW | Variable thrust | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 30 kg | ||
| RA-K37 thruster | 3,125 E$ | 200 kN | 15 km/s | 13.3 kg/s | 5 MW | 1.5 GW | Pulsed thrust | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 70 kg | ||
| MA150HO thruster | 4,375 E$ | 150 kN | 30 km/s | 5 kg/s | 40 MW | 2.3 GW | Variable thrust | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 80 kg | ||
| RA-K44 thruster | 6,250 E$ | 400 kN | 15 km/s | 26.6 kg/s | 15 MW | 1.5 GW | Pulsed thrust | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 75 kg | ||
| Elon Interstellar Ion Thruster | 8,000 E$ | 120 kN | 50 km/s | 2.4 kg/s | 40 MW | 3 GW | Variable thrust | Hydrogen plasma | 90 kg | ||
| ERS-NAGHET 5020 | 8,500 E$ | 210 kN | 27 km/s | 7.8 kg/s | 50 MW | 2.8 GW | Variable thrust | 20 deg | 360 deg/s | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 130 kg |
| MA350HO thruster | 10,000 E$ | 350 kN | 25 km/s | 14 kg/s | 60 MW | 4.4 GW | Variable thrust | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 120 kg | ||
| Elon Interstellar AGILE Thruster | 12,000 E$ | 120 kN | 40 km/s | 3 kg/s | 60 MW | 2.5 GW | Variable thrust | 35 deg | 160 deg/s | Hydrogen plasma | 120 kg |
| RA-K69V thruster | 18,600 E$ | 400 kN | 12 km/s | 33.3 kg/s | 25 MW | 3.6 GW | Pulsed thrust | 25 deg | 540 deg/s | Oxygen-Hydrogen plasma | 150 kg |
All thrusters take 4 hours to repair* and 1 hour to replace.
*The number of mechanics you have hired affects repair time. See Category:Equipment for more details.
Optimal thruster selection largely depends upon one's personal playstyle. Stock thrusters are often cheap and reliable, but won't be performant. Higher thrust equipment typically comes with monetary, electrical, and heat costs, as well as being less reliable and cheap to repair. On the other hand, more efficient or reliable thrusters often sacrifice total thrust output.
Notes
- Gimballed thrusters have an increased range of motion that oftentimes allows them to provide increased effective thrust.
- Tuning can help improve the performance of RCS, especially in unwieldy ships - see Tuning guide.
- Sufficiently powerful RCS can output more thrust than a relatively weak main drive
- The RA-K69V can be overtuned to 200% of it's thrust instead of a 150% maximum like most thrusters. Note that wear increases substantially above.